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Hope Is the First Dose: A Treatment Plan for Recovering from Trauma, Tragedy, and Other Massive Things
A practicing neurosurgeon and award-winning author shares his roadmap to finding hope and even happiness when the worst happens-by placing trust in God-in this powerful memoir of personal tragedy, grief, and recovery.
"There are no empty platitudes in these pages. No helium-filled, empty promises. Look elsewhere for plastic smiles. But look here for genuine hope."-Max Lucado
The question isn't whether you will face the hardest thing. It's what to do when it's staring you in the face.
Because whether in your past, present, or future, trauma will reconfigure your life. And it will do so as your massive thing: someone left, someone cheated, the biopsy was bad, the baby didn't have a heartbeat, a loved one died, you suffered abuse, or your dreams ended abruptly. The devastation is both immediate and ongoing, leaving a wake of emotional, spiritual, and even physical pain.
Dr. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon and former combat surgeon in Iraq, knows this firsthand. A medical doctor with more than twenty years' experience wrestling with the tensions between faith and science, he faced unspeakable tragedy in losing his nineteen-year-old son.
In Hope Is the First Dose, Dr. Warren offers tender empathy and hard-won insights to give you tangible hope. No matter what you're facing, it doesn't have to be the end of you. Let Dr. Warren help you find your way back to a new season of hope, faith, peace-and even happiness.
The first dose is hope-and it comes in the form of grace from the skilled hands of the Great Physician.
"There are no empty platitudes in these pages. No helium-filled, empty promises. Look elsewhere for plastic smiles. But look here for genuine hope."-Max Lucado
The question isn't whether you will face the hardest thing. It's what to do when it's staring you in the face.
Because whether in your past, present, or future, trauma will reconfigure your life. And it will do so as your massive thing: someone left, someone cheated, the biopsy was bad, the baby didn't have a heartbeat, a loved one died, you suffered abuse, or your dreams ended abruptly. The devastation is both immediate and ongoing, leaving a wake of emotional, spiritual, and even physical pain.
Dr. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon and former combat surgeon in Iraq, knows this firsthand. A medical doctor with more than twenty years' experience wrestling with the tensions between faith and science, he faced unspeakable tragedy in losing his nineteen-year-old son.
In Hope Is the First Dose, Dr. Warren offers tender empathy and hard-won insights to give you tangible hope. No matter what you're facing, it doesn't have to be the end of you. Let Dr. Warren help you find your way back to a new season of hope, faith, peace-and even happiness.
The first dose is hope-and it comes in the form of grace from the skilled hands of the Great Physician.
Editorial Reviews
"Hope Is the First Dose is a powerful testament to survival, healing, and health during the darkest times. Dr. Lee Warren's healer spirit, energy, and practical guidance is apparent in every chapter."-Daniel G. Amen, MD, founder of Amen Clinics and author of The End of Mental Illness
"This is an intimate read. Whether you are religious or not, whatever faith you may or may not have, this book will stay with you in times of trouble; it is memorable, universal, and inspiring."-Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo
"I found refuge within the pages of Dr. Warren's writing. His words of God's goodness and hope guided me through the darkness of trauma and pain and led me to the good, comforting presence of our Great Physician."-Laura Barringer, co-author of A Church Called Tov
"A remarkable book by an even more remarkable man about an even more remarkable hope in an even more remarkable Savior."-Dane C. Ortlund, PhD, author of Gentle and Lowly and Deeper
"Lee Warren opens himself up entirely to being seen, and he ministers to readers in the process."-Traci Rhoades, author of Not All Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost
"Grief isn't tame, something Dr. Lee Warren knows as a follower of Jesus, a husband, a father, and a neurosurgeon. Get ready to laugh and cry. But even more-get ready for a massive dose of hope!"-Mark Vroegop, pastor and author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
"Dr. Lee Warren not only helps diagnose what we're feeling and experiencing in dark times, but also, like any good doctor, he educates us on what we need to do to move forward on a path to healing. This book is a prescription for hope."-Jarrett Stephens, pastor and author of The Always God
"In a time that truly tries the depth of our humanity, Dr. Lee Warren's work lifts us to higher ground."-Paul Samuel Dolman, author of Hitchhiking with Larry David and host of the
"This is an intimate read. Whether you are religious or not, whatever faith you may or may not have, this book will stay with you in times of trouble; it is memorable, universal, and inspiring."-Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo
"I found refuge within the pages of Dr. Warren's writing. His words of God's goodness and hope guided me through the darkness of trauma and pain and led me to the good, comforting presence of our Great Physician."-Laura Barringer, co-author of A Church Called Tov
"A remarkable book by an even more remarkable man about an even more remarkable hope in an even more remarkable Savior."-Dane C. Ortlund, PhD, author of Gentle and Lowly and Deeper
"Lee Warren opens himself up entirely to being seen, and he ministers to readers in the process."-Traci Rhoades, author of Not All Who Wander (Spiritually) Are Lost
"Grief isn't tame, something Dr. Lee Warren knows as a follower of Jesus, a husband, a father, and a neurosurgeon. Get ready to laugh and cry. But even more-get ready for a massive dose of hope!"-Mark Vroegop, pastor and author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
"Dr. Lee Warren not only helps diagnose what we're feeling and experiencing in dark times, but also, like any good doctor, he educates us on what we need to do to move forward on a path to healing. This book is a prescription for hope."-Jarrett Stephens, pastor and author of The Always God
"In a time that truly tries the depth of our humanity, Dr. Lee Warren's work lifts us to higher ground."-Paul Samuel Dolman, author of Hitchhiking with Larry David and host of the
Short Excerpt Teaser
1
Where on Earth Is Hope?
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. -Jesus, John 10:10, esv
On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, my nineteen-year-old son Mitchell died of multiple stab wounds to his neck.
His best friend also died in the same way that night but with only one wound.
Whether the knife that was used to kill Mitch was in his hand or someone else's, whether he was at fault or a victim, we will never know. It's impossible for us to know. The official story is so far removed from what we know our gentle son to have been capable of, we cannot believe it.
April 2021
North Platte, Nebraska
"How many kids do you have?" you ask.
I grit my teeth-a little carefully because I've cracked two molars in the eight years since my son Mitchell died.
It's the worst question you can ask bereaved parents because we immediately go into a private conversation with ourselves. I ask myself, Five? Or four?
If I say four, it's with an asterisk, but at least I don't have to go down the waterslide this question is going to take me on if I answer truthfully.
You didn't mean for the question to hurt me, obviously, but there we are.
Here's how this plays out: If I say four, then the whole time we're talking I'm emotionally flogging myself for ignoring the entire life of my beautiful son, just for the sake of sparing myself your inevitable apologies and your prying questions into what happened. I'm Peter at the foot of the cross, in shame about not owning up to who I really am.
If I say five, I'm doing so in hopes that you'll be like most people; you'll nod and say, "That's great! We have three." But it never works out that way for me. There is a 367 percent chance that you're going to respond by saying, "Wow! Tell me about them!"
This is where I deploy tactics. I'll go into great detail about Josh and his wife, Amber, and our amazing new grandson, Ryker. I'll gush over Caity and Nate and their perfect angels, Scarlett and George. Then I'll overshare about Kimber and her special-forces husband, Bryce, and their brilliant son, Jase, and about Kalyn in graduate school and-did-I-tell-you-about-her-research? And, oh boy, our grandkids are destined to be a bunch of world-class athletes and future CEOs, I tell ya!
I'll then try to change the subject, but of course, you're an actuary or a CPA or some sort of math genius, and you stop me.
"Wait, that's only four."
So then it's go time. Let's do this. "We lost Mitch in 2013."
And you never ever just say "I'm so sorry" and move on with the conversation.
Nope. You have to say it.
"What happened?"
I want to lie. "He died saving seventeen nuns, two kittens, and six puppies from a house fire. But he got them all out!"
Unfortunately, my brain stops me. The internet is forever. It's too easy for you to look it up, and for some reason people always do.
So I tell the truth, at least as far as I understand it. "He was stabbed in the neck."
And that's when, every single time, I realize that everyone else in the room has stopped talking, so my words hit every ear like I am speaking directly into them.
Great way to bring a party to a screeching halt.
And then I can't stop myself. I tell you that he and his best friend both died. There were three knives. Multiple stab wounds and blood everywhere. The police in this small Deep South town spent a nanosecond in the house and said Mitch killed his friend and then himself. However, the other boy had only one wound and Mitch had eight. Mitch had a cast on his arm, and all the knives had blood on them, yet the police didn't even check for fingerprints or call for detectives to investigate. It was an open-and-shut case for them-nothing to see here; clean up the scene, put it in the papers as fact, and move on.
But it was not so for us. Mitch was not a fighter. His drug-and-alcohol screen was negative. He loved this other boy. And he hated violence, so the idea of him killing someone and then himself is impossible for me to even contemplate.
Knowing another family was also devastated that night, and being unable to ever know what actually happened, is unbearable. It's impossible. Choose which is more palatable: Your son killed his best friend and then himself, or the two lifelong buddies fought and both died, or some unknown third person got away with murder. None of t...
Where on Earth Is Hope?
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. -Jesus, John 10:10, esv
On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, my nineteen-year-old son Mitchell died of multiple stab wounds to his neck.
His best friend also died in the same way that night but with only one wound.
Whether the knife that was used to kill Mitch was in his hand or someone else's, whether he was at fault or a victim, we will never know. It's impossible for us to know. The official story is so far removed from what we know our gentle son to have been capable of, we cannot believe it.
April 2021
North Platte, Nebraska
"How many kids do you have?" you ask.
I grit my teeth-a little carefully because I've cracked two molars in the eight years since my son Mitchell died.
It's the worst question you can ask bereaved parents because we immediately go into a private conversation with ourselves. I ask myself, Five? Or four?
If I say four, it's with an asterisk, but at least I don't have to go down the waterslide this question is going to take me on if I answer truthfully.
You didn't mean for the question to hurt me, obviously, but there we are.
Here's how this plays out: If I say four, then the whole time we're talking I'm emotionally flogging myself for ignoring the entire life of my beautiful son, just for the sake of sparing myself your inevitable apologies and your prying questions into what happened. I'm Peter at the foot of the cross, in shame about not owning up to who I really am.
If I say five, I'm doing so in hopes that you'll be like most people; you'll nod and say, "That's great! We have three." But it never works out that way for me. There is a 367 percent chance that you're going to respond by saying, "Wow! Tell me about them!"
This is where I deploy tactics. I'll go into great detail about Josh and his wife, Amber, and our amazing new grandson, Ryker. I'll gush over Caity and Nate and their perfect angels, Scarlett and George. Then I'll overshare about Kimber and her special-forces husband, Bryce, and their brilliant son, Jase, and about Kalyn in graduate school and-did-I-tell-you-about-her-research? And, oh boy, our grandkids are destined to be a bunch of world-class athletes and future CEOs, I tell ya!
I'll then try to change the subject, but of course, you're an actuary or a CPA or some sort of math genius, and you stop me.
"Wait, that's only four."
So then it's go time. Let's do this. "We lost Mitch in 2013."
And you never ever just say "I'm so sorry" and move on with the conversation.
Nope. You have to say it.
"What happened?"
I want to lie. "He died saving seventeen nuns, two kittens, and six puppies from a house fire. But he got them all out!"
Unfortunately, my brain stops me. The internet is forever. It's too easy for you to look it up, and for some reason people always do.
So I tell the truth, at least as far as I understand it. "He was stabbed in the neck."
And that's when, every single time, I realize that everyone else in the room has stopped talking, so my words hit every ear like I am speaking directly into them.
Great way to bring a party to a screeching halt.
And then I can't stop myself. I tell you that he and his best friend both died. There were three knives. Multiple stab wounds and blood everywhere. The police in this small Deep South town spent a nanosecond in the house and said Mitch killed his friend and then himself. However, the other boy had only one wound and Mitch had eight. Mitch had a cast on his arm, and all the knives had blood on them, yet the police didn't even check for fingerprints or call for detectives to investigate. It was an open-and-shut case for them-nothing to see here; clean up the scene, put it in the papers as fact, and move on.
But it was not so for us. Mitch was not a fighter. His drug-and-alcohol screen was negative. He loved this other boy. And he hated violence, so the idea of him killing someone and then himself is impossible for me to even contemplate.
Knowing another family was also devastated that night, and being unable to ever know what actually happened, is unbearable. It's impossible. Choose which is more palatable: Your son killed his best friend and then himself, or the two lifelong buddies fought and both died, or some unknown third person got away with murder. None of t...
