Published by Moody Publishers on April 7, 2026
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life
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You and I are free to weep because the Savior wept first.
Suffering is good. God is teaching you to be content. At least you don’t have cancer. Have you ever heard—or maybe you’ve said—sentiments like these in the face of suffering? Without being able to put our finger on why, thoughts like these can leave us feeling confused, lonely, and disoriented.
Is God frustrated by our tears and weakness? Does He weep with us or is He aloof and uncaring? In Free to Weep, Brittany Allen looks to biblical texts to reveal the God who is “near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18). In each chapter, Brittany combats and corrects lies and half-truths women (including herself) tend to believe about suffering, like:
Weakness is shameful.
If you’re suffering well, you won’t be downcast.
You’re suffering because you sinned.
Suffering is good.
Experiencing sadness means you’re discontent.
Once you learn God’s lesson, your suffering will end.
Anxiety and depression are always rooted in sin.
And more.What does it look like to suffer well—to grieve life’s losses, big and small? How does God grieve? Looking to the example of Jesus, our Suffering Savior, readers grow in empathy, truth, and grace for themselves and others. God is with you in your pain. When you’re suffering, He invites you to draw near and rest in Him. Join Brittany in discovering the beauty of God’s heart in Free to Weep.
I have read many books about suffering, and this stands out as one of the best. Brittany Lee Allen gives a stirring defense of why it is both acceptable and biblically faithful for Christians to feel and express great pain over their difficult life circumstances and personal losses. Lee Allen writes from experience with church cultures that minimize grief, make hurtful comparisons, and imply that if you truly had faith in Jesus, then your traumas and tragedies wouldn’t hurt so badly. She challenges these harmful beliefs and presents a biblical vision for what it looks like to faithfully mourn your sorrows.
Lee Allen’s experience with multiple miscarriages, physical health issues, chronic pain, and debilitating OCD shape her life perspective, showing that Christians are not immune to both intense suffering and the emotional pain that it causes. In Free to Weep, she presents theological perspectives on suffering and gives vulnerable personal examples, showing that skewed beliefs about suffering misrepresent God and cause harm to people. She encourages Christians to be honest with themselves, God, and others about their pain, and she challenges church communities to become safe places for people to open up about their suffering.
Each chapter debunks a different myth about suffering. Lee Allen emphasizes that even when there may be a kernel of truth to these beliefs, they do not align with biblical teaching or the reality of our experiences, and they add to people’s pain. Each chapter concludes with examples of how Jesus responded to suffering, showing that because he wept, mourned, and lamented, we can follow in his steps, knowing that it is not sinful to experience emotional torment over the brokenness in the world and our own lives. I found this book very insightful, and I often stopped and reread especially excellent paragraphs. If I had been highlighting, I would have marked up most of the book!
Free to Weep: Finding the Courage to Grieve and Embracing the God Who Heals is a much-needed corrective to common ideas in Christian communities. The author assumes a female readership throughout the book and makes occasional references to the reader being a woman, but her message is much-needed for everyone. I highly recommend this thought-provoking, well-written book to Christians who are dealing with suffering, and to the people who support them.
