Overview

What does it mean to live with integrity when no choice is clean? Stories of Bearing: People Under Moral Weight is a collection of interwoven narratives about ordinary people navigating moral injury in everyday life. These are not stories of dramatic failure or heroic triumph, but of quiet endurance--of people who care deeply and discover that care itself can become costly. Across these stories, pastors, professionals, caregivers, public servants, and neighbors face situations where responsibility exceeds agency, where loyalty demands silence, and where participation exacts a price that cannot be easily named. The weight they bear is not always visible, but it shapes their relationships, their sense of self, and their ability to remain human over time. Written with restraint and moral seriousness, Stories of Bearing does not offer easy resolutions or moral lessons. Instead, it bears witness to what it costs to stay present, honest, and intact in systems that rarely acknowledge the harm they produce. This is a book for readers who recognize that the hardest burdens are often carried quietly--and that integrity, when it matters most, is rarely without consequence.

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9798385277841

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Reviews

""Dr. Smith makes his series on moral injury personal in this collection of stories. They are quiet and reflective and don't feature heroes, villains, or dramatic plots; rather, they illustrate the ambiguity and complexity of leadership in churches, or any institutions, populated by well-meaning people--but where the concept of moral injury is not taken into account. You will not find easy answers in these pages, but you will encounter truth."" --David McInally, President Emeritus, Coe College

Author Information

G. C. Smith is a writer, pastor, and clinical pastoral counselor whose work focuses on moral injury, integrity under constraint, and the cost of faithfulness in public and institutional life. He holds a PhD in clinical pastoral counseling and is a licensed clinical pastoral counselor and board-certified grief and trauma therapist. He is the author of Stories of Bearing and several works on moral injury. He lives in Iowa.

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