In 1995, the trajectory of Brad and Donna’s Hoefs life changed dramatically. Due to Brad’s mental illness, which was undiagnosed at the time, he had an excruciatingly public episode of uncontrolled manic behavior. As a senior pastor of a large church, Brad was smeared in the news, received condemning letters from pastors across the country, many friendships ceased, and the church asked him to resign. In the aftermath, Donna remembers sitting in her backyard weeping and pleading to God – “My husband is not well. I have no job. I’ve got two children to care for. What am I going to do?”
Seven years later, Brad’s recovery hit a low point when he relapsed. In addition to losing more friends, they lost their dream home and moved into an apartment. Donna later describes the inner pain of being married to someone with a mental illness: “confusing… devastating… terrifying… alone… forgotten… grief… anguish…”.
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there.
In their newly published book, Holding to Hope: Staying Sane While Loving Someone with a Mental Illness, Brad and Donna courageously share their story together. Being the loved one of someone with a diagnosis can be as difficult as having the illness itself. The book focuses on empowering people to live well in spite of the roller coaster ride of a loved one’s mental illness.
“Now we can say, 20 years after the first diagnosis, these words:
Relief
Light
Laughter
Joy
Future
and Hope.”
~ Brad and Donna Hoefs
When I finished reading Holding to Hope, I found myself thanking God for keeping His promises to the Hoefs. When their hearts were broken, He drew near to them. During their struggle, He was working all things together for good. They have never been alone on this difficult journey together, and now they are sharing over 20 years of powerful insights and practical steps that can produce relief, light, laughter, joy, future and hope in others.
For many people who love someone with a mental illness, those words may seem impossible and out of reach. If that’s you, I pray you will read this book and experience a new, hope-filled reality in your life.
In Hope,
Jonathan Nielson
To order your copy of Holding to Hope: Staying Sane While Loving Someone with a Mental Illness, you can go to the Fresh Hope Store or Amazon using the links below:
To download free chapters visit linktr.ee/holdingtohope
Holding to Hope: Staying Sane While Loving Someone with a Mental Illness centers around the 7 Fresh Hope Recovery Principles for Loved Ones. It’s filled with a transparent look and learned insights into the Hoefs’ lives as they navigated through the darkest days following Pastor Brad’s first major bipolar episode in 1995. Holding to Hope is not only for individuals to read but can also be used in a group setting for a group to process together.
Thank you for your story.
I thought I was called into Ministry, only to find that you essentially needed “a barbed wire” personality. After I left Word of Faith teaching, I began to find holes in their theology, and was banished from their group. Next was a “smear campaign”, and gaslighting.
I will get your Book. Thank you for sharing your truth.
Ms. Chapman
On Wed, Aug 25, 2021, 12:11 PM Pastor Brad Hoefs wrote:
> FreshHope.Us posted: ” In 1995, the trajectory of Brad and Donna’s > Hoefs life changed dramatically. Due to Brad’s mental illness, which was > undiagnosed at the time, he had an excruciatingly public episode > of uncontrolled manic behavior. As a senior pastor of a large church” >