Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

The Railway Man By Eric Lomax Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton The Railway Man is an emotionally powerful film based on the true story of Eric Lomax. Eric (Colin Firth) meets Patti (Nicole Kidman) on a train. We’re on a quick romantic journey to marriage but soon discover Eric’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is linked to brutal torture as a POW. The severe PTSD symptoms threaten to destroy his relationship along with his life. We’re in a time shuffle from the relationship and early marriage in the 1980s to WWII. Lomax was a British officer sent to railway work as a slave of the Japanese when Singapore fell in 1942. After his marriage, Eric discovers one of his Japanese torturers, Nagase, is alive. Now the gut-wrenching inner struggle takes place on a larger stage. The war is not over for either man. Rather than reveal the dramatic and unpredictable conclusion, I’ll stop with the story-telling. Clinicians like me have seen many...

The Book: Couple Therapy:  A New Hope-Focused Approach By Jennifer S. Ripley  and  Everett L. Worthington Jr. Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton My connection to Couple Therapy I’ve studied hope in Christian samples for several years and find it a powerful motivational dimension of human functioning. Level of hope predicts counseling outcomes. The contents of this book fit well with my view of couple counseling. Disclosure: I know both authors but I got my book from the Encounter Journal for purposes of writing a review. What’s Couple Therapy About? Couple Therapy is an approach to couple therapy grounded in the belief that a Christian’s faith in God leads to hope and that this combination of faith and hope can lead to loving relationships. The book is written for professional counselors, pastors, and lay counselors, but the authors also note that married couples may benefit from the principles and interventions c...