Book excerpt: With vulnerability and honesty, Jerry Sittser walks through his own grief and loss to show that new life is possible--one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple blessings. Loss came suddenly for Jerry Sittser. In an instant, a tragic car accident claimed three generations of his family: his mother, his wife, and his young daughter. While most of us will not experience such a catastrophic loss in our lifetime, all of us will taste it. And we can, if we choose, know the grace that transforms it. Whether your suffering has come in the form of short-term illness, chronic illness, disability, divorce, rape, emotional abuse, physical or sexual abuse, chronic unemployment, crushing disappointment, mental illness, or the loss of someone you love, Sittser will help you put your thoughts into words in a way that will guide you deeper into your own healing process. A Grace Disguised plumbs the depths of our sorrows, asks questions many people are afraid to ask, and provides hope in its answers: Will the pain ever subside? Will my life ever be good again? Will the depression ever lift? Will I ever overcome the bitterness I feel? What is God's plan in all of this? The circumstances are not important; what we do with those circumstances is. In coming to the end of ourselves, we can come to the beginning of a new life.