About the Book
Book: Trekking Toward Tenacity: Your Family’s Roadmap to Stronger Mental Health
Author: Chris Morris
Genre: Parenting / Christian Living / Mental Health
Release date: September 24, 2024
Empower your children with the gift of tenacity through these practical, meaningful tools for their mental and spiritual health.
Trekking toward Tenacity walks through Psalm 139 verse by verse, discovering how we can help our children develop mentally healthy habits. The goal is to coach our kids to be more tenacious because we live in a tumultuous world. It can be hard to stay focused on God and on mentally healthy habits in that tumult, but this book gives concrete ways to help kids to do just that.
By teaching parents practical application steps to implement with kids of all ages, ranging from preschool to adolescent, this book will give them new tools to support their families in the quest for better mental health. It will provide rock-solid encouragement for parents who are stressed out and wondering if they’re making the right choices for their families. It provides counterintelligence against the onslaught of increased risks of mental health challenges for children and young adults today.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Chris Morris is a certified mental health coach dedicated to promoting understanding of mental health issues within the church. Because of a lifelong struggle with depression and suicidality, Chris became committed to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging others to seek after holistic health.
As a writer and speaker, Chris has shared his personal story and insights with audiences across the country, inspiring many individuals to take control of their own health, break free from poor theological teaching placed upon them, and seek the support they need. He has published several books on mental health, the most recent being Resilient and Redeemed. His work has been featured in a number of media outlets, including CrossWalk, The Mighty, and Fathom Magazine.
Chris is deeply committed to creating a more compassionate and supportive world and church for individuals living with mental health issues. Through his writing and speaking, he is a powerful voice for change and a beacon of hope for those in need.
More from Chris
I literally wrote the book that I wish I had 20 years ago when I was raising my kids. Being a parent today is tumultuous. Especially in a post-COVID world, mental health is a strong contender for the biggest challenges facing our kids. There are plenty of books out there that give us theories on how to raise our kids, and plenty of books that are full of devotionals to walk through with our kids, but shockingly few books dedicated to coaching our kids to have tenacity.
In my experience, tenacity might be the biggest difference maker between seeing our kids move successfully through life and floundering. It’s a given that challenges will come, whether those struggles look like not making the varsity basketball team or something more serious. We simply have to help our kids know how to walk through the missed opportunities and hard times that will inevitably come into their lives.
Trekking Toward Tenacity does just that. We walk through Psalm 139 verse by verse and pull out practical, meaningful tips, tricks, and conversations to have with our kids to help them develop resilience. News flash: there’s no magic potion we can give our kids that gives them bounce-backability. Instead, this is found through conversation about life and God.
My favorite part of this book was writing the age-appropriate activities in the center of each chapter. Instead of only giving you theology or child psychology data without any practical application, Trekking Toward Tenacity includes specific activities you can try out with your kids. There’s obviously no guarantee that these ideas will work, but I can tell you that they worked for other kids. These are pie-in-the-sky concepts, but activities that have been tried in the real world.
If you’re looking for a book that will arm you with skills to coach your kids on how to develop tenacity in their lives, this is the book for you!
Author Interview
- What is your favorite genre of books? Why?
I have two favorite genres, and each stretch my brain in different ways. For the truly nerdy side of me, I enjoy reading heady theological treatises. This might include the magnum opus of a theologian I am currently obsessing over, or it might be a fresh treatment of a topic that I think hasn’t had enough theological attention in the past. For example, I am in the process of reading Jurgen Moltmann’s most popular theological work, and I am about to start reading a theological treatment of the immigration debate.
When my brain hurts from reading theology, I love a good fantasy novel. Anything that will transport me into a different world, or a different version of this world, is a welcome distraction for me. I love the way some of my favorite authors are able to create believable worlds out of thin air and populate them with engaging characters that I somehow really care about. I secretly wish I could write fantasy, but it’s not in my wheelhouse.
- Are you a one project at a time author or do you have multiple projects going at once?
I like to have different book ideas in different phases of work at the same time. This allows me to stretch different parts of my brain in unique ways and keeps my mind fresh. For example, it’s perfect for me to have one book that I am preparing a proposal for while I am drafting another book and working on developmental edits for a third book, all at the same time. This might be a function of my ADHD, but it keeps things interesting for me.
- How has your life experience helped in your writing journey?
Almost everything I write is based in some way on my life experience. My work in mental health and faith is sourced in my own journey with depression and suicidal ideations. Previous books I have written about chronic illness arose out of my daughter’s fights with autism and epilepsy. Trekking Toward Tenacity is based on the parenting skills I have developed over the last thirty years as a dad. Even as I move forward in my writing career, I am convinced that my life experiences will always be part of the package.
- Who is your favorite author? Why?
Lindsay A. Franklin is my favorite author right now. Her ability to weave stories of wonder astound me. Her worlds are believable and intriguing. Her characters are compelling and I care about what happens to them. On top of all that, Franklin is dealing with real-life issues like identity and trauma in the midst of her fantastical worlds.
- Do you have extensive outlines when writing or do you write a book as you go?
I am somewhere in between these two options. In the process of building out a proposal, I draft around three sentences for each chapter in a book. I use this as a general guide for me as I write the rest of the chapter. I know, that’s not much to work with, but more often than not it’s enough for me to complete a chapter. My books usually have some sort of recurring format to them, so I follow that format as well to guide me through the creating of the chapters. In the end, I am mostly a pantser, as they say, but I have some guidance along the way.
Blog Stops
Its Mama Safe, January 16
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 17
A Reader’s Brain, January 18 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, January 19 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 19
Artistic Nobody, January 20 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, January 21
Aryn the Libraryan, January 22
Back Porch Reads, January 23 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, January 24
Simple Harvest Reads, January 25 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, January 25
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 26
Fiction Book Lover, January 27 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 28
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, January 29 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Chris is giving away the grand prize of a $75 Amazon gift card, a copy of Trekking Toward Tenacity, and a free Audible copy of my previous book Whispers in the Pews: Voices on Mental Illness in the Church!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.