Bruce Wilson

Bruce Wilson explores life after suffering a heart attack and complications. As he rides the roller-coaster ride of his emotions through hospital and in recovery, Bishop Wilson comes to a new understanding of himself, his place in God’s world, and the nature of God.

Bruce Wilson’s pastoral experience as bush bishop, city priest and University chaplain is evident everywhere. Where necessary, Bishop Bruce explains theological concepts in shaded text that could possibly be skipped.

I devoured Bless You Heart Attack in a day. I related to the experience of submitting to medical indignities which take away identity. One of Bishop Bruce’s key learnings is that, after serious illness, you cannot go back to being the person you were.

For Bruce after serious illness, ideas of God-hood must be exploded and expanded to something new and more mysterious.
Bless You Heart Attack tells a compelling story; the opening hook so compelling and funny that I won’t reveal it here! It is a deeply honest account of illness aimed at a general readership. I would highly recommend it to people whose life-direction has been steered by sudden illness or disaster – but with caution: the reader is invited to a similar honesty of emotional reflection.

The book could have been improved by more judicious editing. In his effort to maintain the conversational style, the Bishop sometimes writes in clauses, not sentences, which I found jarring. I also wondered at the sensitivity of putting Uluru on the cover, as if enough cultural appropriation has not already taken place!
I heartily recommend Bishop Bruce’s honesty of emotion and clarity of reflection. If life throws up bad stuff, read it!

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Review published in Anglican Messenger (Diocese of Perth), February 2020 (https://www.perth.anglican.org/what-we-do/anglican-messenger/)… (mer)