Too often, Christian communities struggle with expressing grief and suffering in a way that is both honest and theologically grounded. In Walking with God Through the Valley, May Young urges the church to reclaim the biblical practice of lament—not as a sign of doubt, but as a deep act of faith.

Drawing from Psalms, Lamentations, and Habakkuk, Young explores how lament shaped ancient believers and why it remains essential today. She blends biblical insight with personal experiences of pain and loss, making the book deeply relatable. Her reflections on how lament can guide us through injustice, doubt, loneliness, and repentance are particularly striking.

What sets this book apart is its practical application. Young doesn’t just teach about lament—she invites readers to engage with it. Each chapter ends with questions and guidance for personal and communal lament, making this a valuable resource for individuals and church communities alike.

This is not just a book for those in seasons of suffering, but for anyone who wants to develop a richer, more honest relationship with God. Young reminds us that lament is not the end of the story—it is a pathway to renewed hope.

This is the first time that I have read anything on the subject of biblical lament. A well written volume on this subject that is surely ever more important at this time in the Anglican Church. Lamenting does mean complaining or allowing oneself to become stuck in our pain and suffering. We need to feel the pain and draw closer to God. He is with us on our suffering. By doing th3 hard work of looking our pain in the face, we can start to move forward. However slowly that may be.

May Young’s Walking with God Through the Valley is a profound and much-needed exploration of the biblical practice of lament. At a time when personal and communal suffering often feels overwhelming, Young’s work serves as both a theological guide and a pastoral invitation to rediscover the richness of lament.

The book opens with a bold assertion: the church has forgotten how to grieve biblically. This statement resonates deeply, as many contemporary Christian communities struggle to find language for pain and loss within worship and personal devotion. Drawing from key passages in Psalms, Habakkuk, and Lamentations, Young crafts a compelling argument for lament as not only a form of expression but also a pathway toward healing and renewed hope in God.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its grounding in Scripture. Young, an Old Testament scholar, demonstrates a masterful ability to unpack the ancient contexts of lament texts while making them accessible and relevant to today’s readers. Her analysis of the Psalms, for example, illuminates how lament allows worshipers to bring their raw emotions before God without fear of rejection. Similarly, her reflections on Habakkuk highlight the tension between questioning God and trusting in His sovereignty.

Young also excels in offering practical application. Whether for individuals seeking to process personal suffering or for church leaders longing to incorporate lament into corporate worship, her guidance is clear and actionable. She provides exercises, questions for reflection, and even liturgical suggestions, all designed to help communities reclaim lament as a vital spiritual discipline.

What sets this book apart is its balance of scholarship and compassion. Young’s writing is deeply rooted in academic study, yet her tone is pastoral, often drawing from her own experiences of pain and faith. This combination makes Walking with God Through the Valley a deeply moving read, as well as an invaluable resource for Christians seeking to navigate the complexities of life with honesty and faithfulness.

In a world marked by ongoing crises and personal heartbreak, Young’s call to recover the practice of lament could not be more timely. Her work reminds us that lament is not a denial of God’s goodness but a testimony to His ability to meet us in our suffering. For anyone longing for language to process pain or for a way to lead their community toward healing, Walking with God Through the Valley is essential reading.

Walking with God Through the Valley explores the idea of lament in the Bible. Lament is seen in many places on the Bible, particularly in the Psalms but is often not talked about or utilised as effectively as it could be on both an individual and corporate level.

May first walks the reader through the historical context of Lament in the Bible as well as how neighbouring cultures used similar albeit different mechanisms.

The second part of the boom focuses on the different types of lament, including case studies of real life examples of how lament has helped people in specific circumstances.

Each chapter finishes with reflection questions to help you think deeper about the topics discusses as well as ideas for both individual and corporate practice of lament.

Overall an interesting and thought-provoking book.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

Tears in the valley
A book review of Walking with God through the valley: recovering the purpose of biblical lament by May Young.
When you think of lamenting what do you hear and see? For me, it is the mass keening in the Middle East for the loss of a loved one usually in horrific circumstances. The whole neighbourhood of women cry, wailing as they recover the body and hold it aloft. There is something base about it. Something that brings us to our very core of understanding of what it is to be human.
We are creatures who love well. Those who love well also lose and lament is a biblical process of that grief. In the bible we have the great lamenter – David who has 65 hymns of lament in the Book of Psalms. We also have the book of Lamentations. As a testament to the remnant’s pain and confusion following the destruction of Jerusalem, Lamentations shows how prayerful lament is a crucial part of our journey of faith in a broken world.
Does Young grapple with this?
Yes. Systematically Young takes us on a journey of case studies and the topics surrounding lament. She covers sin and repentance first followed by doubt and questioning. Having just read s treatise on Job I found these chapters dovetailed with that book also. Real life scenarios of health, wealth and loss are discussed as injustice, unfairness, anger, abandonment are explored. Finally, the possibility of lament with the journey of sickness and death are teased out.
When you are going through the valley of Baca, the valley of tears knowing there is always an end to a valley is helpful geography. A valley has an opening and an ending otherwise it would be a basin. This is comforting for those in the middle of a struggle.
At the end of each chapter there is an individual practice and a corporate practice suggestion. This makes me question the purpose of the book. Is it to dip into when you are in that place of lament and …? Is it to be read as a guide for pastors walking alongside those in need? Is it to encourage the practice of lament in the general population and/or church?
As I considered this and other options, I wondered what it would look like to use this book in one of our weekly bible studies or prayer meetings. I thought about the people who attend and what their sharing would add to it. I think I will encourage our group to buy the book, and we can work our way through it together.

Provides historical and biblical background on lament and recommendations for how to incorporate it corporately and individually in the Christian life.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)