Embracing the Mess: A Look at 'A Beautiful, Messy Life' by Shane St Reynolds

Content warning: this post includes candid material about suicide, self-harm ideation, drug use and addiction, psychiatric hospitalisation, abuse, trauma, grief and violent loss, abortion, criminal behaviour and bankruptcy. If you are in crisis, please use the support resources at the end of this post.

A brief announcement

Today is the author’s birthday — and after many years carrying this story, Shane St Reynolds is releasing his eleventh book, A Beautiful Messy Life: The Discipline of Resurrection. The book will be published by Saint Publishing Australia and is scheduled for release on 9 November 2025 (ISBN: 9798272939036). Written from the middle of recovery work, it reads like a map home from the wreckage — honest, unvarnished, and faith-rooted.

Why this book matters for progressive Christians

This is not a tidy spiritual manual. It’s testimony: a lived account of hitting rock bottom and learning that wreckage can be reclaimed. Shane writes out of psychiatric admissions, long therapy, addiction, financial collapse, betrayal and grief — and from those places discovers practices of restoration that are accessible, gritty, and grounded in a faith that refuses to sugarcoat suffering.

For progressive Christians who value vulnerability, social accountability, and a theology that honours human brokenness, this book offers:

• A theology of resurrection that takes scars seriously rather than erasing them.
• Honest stories that destigmatise mental-health struggles and addiction.
• Practical spiritual and emotional disciplines for rebuilding a life with integrity.

What’s inside

• First-person accounts: hospital journals, the work of making amends, and practical steps taken on the road to recovery.
• Faith-informed chapters exploring “rock bottom” as a starting place for spiritual formation and the day-to-day discipline of showing up for life.
• Journal entries written from psychiatric care and concrete resources for ongoing recovery.
• A refusal to gloss over pain, paired with a hopeful frame that sees resurrection as communal and restorative.

All net proceeds will be donated to the Black Dog Institute — a clear sign that the project is oriented toward public care and mental-health support.

How you can help

• Read, pre-order, or share if you’re able — proceeds support mental-health work through the Black Dog Institute.
• If this resonates, tell someone who might need to hear it. Honest conversations save lives.
• Share the book with your community, congregation, or support groups; leave a review when you can.

Connect with the author and resources

• For coaching, speaking, or direct connection: www.shanereynolds.com.au
• Additional resources compiled by the author: thegoodnewsblog.org

Pre-order the book

Click the link below to pre-order your copy of A Beautiful Messy Life.

Pre-Order Now

A note of gratitude

To everyone who prayed, sat with Shane in the dark, and helped him get back up — thank you. This book is an invitation to live honestly in the mess, to practice resurrection together, and to hold one another as God redeems what was thought ruined.

Crisis & support (Australia)

Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 (24/7) or text 0477 13 11 14
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
QLife (LGBTIQ+): 1800 184 527 (3 pm–midnight)
If anyone is in immediate danger call 000.