Book Reviews of Help for Women Under Stress

This is a much-needed book for women in today's fast-paced world. Randy and Nanci Alcorn address the issue of stress from a variety of angles, including its source and the effect it can have on a woman's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Simple quizzes help the reader identify the level of stress impacting her life, including stress caused by positive life changes. This is not just a philosophical discussion of stress, however, but a highly practical book that provides specific steps for women to address and decrease the stress in their lives. No miracle cures or quick fixes here, just sound and Biblically-based advice for women that will help them manage the demands on their time without feeling like they are stuck on the spin cycle of an unruly washing machine. And since the stressed-out woman doesn't have time for "one more" thing on her To Do List, this book can be read in small increments, applying each section as it is read. Recommended! 

—L.A., blogger

Randy & Nanci Alcorn's book, Women Under Stress is the only book they collaborated on in Randy's remarkable writing career. When the book released twenty-eight years ago women of all ages found wisdom and insight about the causes and effects of stress with suggestions on how to deal with it. Especially the "...wife of a Christian leader who said...it kept her from taking her life..."
     Is stress so life-impacting it can lead to suicide? Hans Selye, noted stress researcher who first coined the term believes, "Stress is the spice of life." Randy says if that is true then "...many of us are over seasoned." He argues the problem isn't stress itself, but rather "...too much stress - and inadequate knowledge of how to deal with it."
     When Randy reread the original manuscript he saw "major ways to improve the book" and decided to revise it. Since he first penned the words, greater demands imposed by our "on-demand" culture and modern conveniences have made life even more stressful than before. However, by the time he added new information and deleted old material, the revision could be considered a new book.
     Trillia Newbell interviewed Randy for Women of God magazine March 26, 2013 and asked why he published a revision. He said he'd had many requests for the out-of-print book and said, "Women are still under stress." Perhaps more than ever before due to the "...ever-changing, media-saturated, fast-paced world..." we live in.
     In addition, since the book was first published he and Nanci had gained twenty-five years of at times stressful life experience, from raising their own children to helping out with grandchildren to other known stressors such as "...disease, surgeries, lawsuits, job loss" and more. Those experiences taught them to rely on God's grace and providence according to Psalm 18:6. "In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears." They also learned "God uses stress to draw us to himself and to encourage us to make necessary changes." That's what Help for Women under Stress is all about - stress, God and change.
     Thirteen chapters include stress-related themes from trying to be "Wonder-wife and Super-Mom," to issues of guilt, God and self-esteem. The last four chapters feature the impact and importance of exercise, nutrition, relaxation and women's overall health and the impact of hormones. Chapters include insightful charts, poetry and discussion questions.
     The Alcorn's hope this book helps women to handle stress instead of stress handling them. 

—Gail Welborn, posted on the Midwest Book Review