Time and Despondency

Regaining the Present in Faith and Life

By: Nicole Roccas

Narrated by: Nicole M. Roccas

Idleness. Apathy. Restlessness. Procrastination. These are symptoms of what early Christian theologians called despondency (acedia), a spiritual sickness rooted in a lack of care or effort.

A condition as old as the ancients, despondency thrives in today's culture of leisure, anxiety, and digital distraction. Time and Despondency is a penetrating synthesis of ancient theology, spiritual memoir, and self-help practicality. It envisions despondency as the extension of a broken relationship with the experience of time.

Driven by the fear of death and the anxiety of living, despondency drives us to abandon the present moment, forsaking the only temporal realm in which we have true fellowship with Christ. The remedies offered by time-honored Christian thinkers for this predicament constitute not only an antidote to despondency but also stepping stones back to the present moment.

In regaining the sacredness of time, we re-encounter the resurrection of Christ in the dark and restless moments of our lives.

©2017 Nicole M. Roccas (P)2018 Nicole M. Roccas

Great for anyone struggling with depression

I found this audiobook to be both interesting, informative and timely. I like it when authors narrate their own work and plan to listen to this book again. I highly recommend it and think it would be great if more young adults listened to/read this book.

I am very grateful that I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request ; I have voluntarily left this review.

Just what I needed

For someone who has battled dysthymia my whole life, but also a Christian, this speaks to me. It is rare that depression is adequately addressed in the church and even rarer for mental health to address the spiritual side. This is a balanced approach from both.

Spot on and encouraging

I have been caught in the web of despondency for some time. The readers gentleness and encouragement are great motivators to continue in my struggle.

Glory to God

Rumination is the opposite of gratitude (and other insights toward freedom from despondency)

I want to stop numbing myself— thought this book (which gives modern applications to the teachings of the desert fathers) might give insight.

The author’s voice is so soft that I had to really pay attention to catch what she says. This irritated me at first, accustomed to doing a million things while listening to a book. Two thirds into it, I realized that was the point! I need to slow down and do daily tasks with attentiveness, awareness.

The insight that the opposite of gratitude is rumination is worth the whole book (but there are many such insights). I replayed that section at least 10 times to let her observations re this to sink in.

At the end of each section, Dr. Roccas has practical suggestions for countering the aspect of despondency treated in that chapter. It is both serious and joyful.

In addition to the Audible version, I bought the Kindle version and 3 of the hardcover so I can share the book with others (and I never buy hardcopy books any more!).

Ok! I’m going to start listening to it again now. :D

Phenomenal

This is my favorite Orthodox audiobook. Every chapter heals the soul. Truly a blessing for monastics and laymen alike.

A Profound Book for the Despondent Christian

If you are a Christian and have recently been feeling down, or have fallen into the pit of anxiety and despair then this book will certainly help you! The author will take you through all of the possible causes of your spiritual despondency, share with you her own personal struggles, and will give you practical solutions (based on proven methods) that, when put into practice, will bring about spiritual renewal.

Personally, I believe that this book was written especially for me. Usually I get one or two "doses" of inspirations from such a book, this time I got hundreds! Hats off to the author Nicole M. Roccas!

"Blessed are the poor in spirit...."

Profound wisdom shared by a gentle, fellow traveler and messenger of the one who brings our only true healing. Thank you...

Really good snippets of information

The book was all over the place but it still contains information worth listening to in regards to the subject matter presented.

Whoa

The gems come so fast and so frequently that within a day I ordered your book so that I can contemplate these ideas and enjoy the depth of what you are revealing.
I am off to start reading. Blessings to you Nicole. In this moment I would say the Lord has used you to give me what I need.

Beautiful audio book.

Time and Despondency by Nicole Roccas is a beautifully written book and you can easily tell she put her heart and soul into it. I have to admit that although I thoroughly enjoyed the book I struggled at times to comprehend it. I did decide to buy the hard copy book to go along with the audio version and that really helped. I am also hoping to get a small book study group together because I feel it is very well suited for that. I would to get others thoughts and opinions and more experienced Orthodox to help me since I am a new convert.