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Sacred and Sane: Six pillars for keeping your faith without losing your mind
Rose Stanley
Sacred and Sane is both creative memoir and social commentary from a woman of faith reading about church controversies in Aotearoa and reflecting on these controversies in the light of her own lived experience. Rose presents six pillars for a healthier view on spirituality and mental health which helped to improve her own well-being.
For countless women in faith communities, Sunday morning smiles can mask a different reality: drowning in endless service, overwhelmed by expectations and thinking their exhaustion is simply a spiritual problem requiring more prayer. We’re familiar with terms like gaslighting, people-pleasing and accommodating, but when these behaviours show up in our everyday lives – like in our church communities – they bring deep discomfort and internal conflict.
Rose Stanley has lived this story – blaming herself for not being able to juggle the demands of her life, including work, motherhood and service to her church community; unable to communicate her emotional needs, and wondering if this is really what God wants.
In the wake of New Zealand’s recent faith controversies – from Arise Megachurch to Gloriavale – Sacred and Sane asks a crucial question: why do women of faith give of their time, resources and energy to the degree that their mental, familial or relational health is compromised?
Rose provides six practical pillars in this honest guide and empowers the reader to build trust and confidence in themselves, to gauge what a healthy, safe community looks like and navigate their own faith journey; one which recognises their individuality, unique circumstances and seasons of life.
Sacred and Sane isn’t about choosing between faith and sanity —it’s about discovering you can have both.
“Rose Stanley writes to give others hope and a blueprint for how to reclaim both your mental health and sense of worth. Importantly she shows how she kept, or rather re-discovered, her faith. This is a generous and compassionate book.”
Fleur Beale, writer of YA fiction and Sins of the Father, the true story of Phil Cooper, son of Gloriavale founder Neville Cooper
“Rose writes personally, from her many years’ experience of loving and leaving church and faith as she had always known them. Her words are permission-giving to those walking that same journey and she is a compassionate guide. If you’re on this road, you will find yourself reflected here.”
Jane Kennedy – Therapist & Co-Founder, The Religious Trauma Collective, Author of The Religious Non-Believer
Where to buy
Available from Wheelers, Aotearoa Books, Book Hero, Amazon and direct from Rose Stanley www.rosestanley.com
Wholesale price available.
Sacred and Sane: Six pillars for keeping your faith without losing your mind
Rose Stanley
Sacred and Sane is both creative memoir and social commentary from a woman of faith reading about church controversies in Aotearoa and reflecting on these controversies in the light of her own lived experience. Rose presents six pillars for a healthier view on spirituality and mental health which helped to improve her own well-being.
For countless women in faith communities, Sunday morning smiles can mask a different reality: drowning in endless service, overwhelmed by expectations and thinking their exhaustion is simply a spiritual problem requiring more prayer. We’re familiar with terms like gaslighting, people-pleasing and accommodating, but when these behaviours show up in our everyday lives – like in our church communities – they bring deep discomfort and internal conflict.
Rose Stanley has lived this story – blaming herself for not being able to juggle the demands of her life, including work, motherhood and service to her church community; unable to communicate her emotional needs, and wondering if this is really what God wants.
In the wake of New Zealand’s recent faith controversies – from Arise Megachurch to Gloriavale – Sacred and Sane asks a crucial question: why do women of faith give of their time, resources and energy to the degree that their mental, familial or relational health is compromised?
Rose provides six practical pillars in this honest guide and empowers the reader to build trust and confidence in themselves, to gauge what a healthy, safe community looks like and navigate their own faith journey; one which recognises their individuality, unique circumstances and seasons of life.
Sacred and Sane isn’t about choosing between faith and sanity —it’s about discovering you can have both.
“Rose Stanley writes to give others hope and a blueprint for how to reclaim both your mental health and sense of worth. Importantly she shows how she kept, or rather re-discovered, her faith. This is a generous and compassionate book.”
Fleur Beale, writer of YA fiction and Sins of the Father, the true story of Phil Cooper, son of Gloriavale founder Neville Cooper
“Rose writes personally, from her many years’ experience of loving and leaving church and faith as she had always known them. Her words are permission-giving to those walking that same journey and she is a compassionate guide. If you’re on this road, you will find yourself reflected here.”
Jane Kennedy – Therapist & Co-Founder, The Religious Trauma Collective, Author of The Religious Non-Believer
Where to buy
Available from Wheelers, Aotearoa Books, Book Hero, Amazon and direct from Rose Stanley www.rosestanley.com
Wholesale price available.