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Hope Beyond Cure
"Two devastating words left me feeling hopeless and lost. Tumour and incurable.”
So begins David McDonald’s desperate search for hope through the unflinching gaze of his terminal cancer diagnosis. His dreams shattered, his family distraught, his body wracked by chemotherapy and his faith severely tested, this Christian pastor went back to the Bible to find out for Is God there? Does he care? When there is no cure, does God still offer hope?
...
"No matter what you believe in, when struck down in your prime by a terminal illness, the reality of our human mortality can hit like a tsunami. Hope Beyond Cure is a remarkable story of courage, resilience, belief and the power of faith."
Rob Clarke (CEO, Rebels Super Rugby Club, Melbourne)
"This is a moving read, raw and open. It shows the real hope Christians have. But this is also a book for those with no faith— who have cancer or who care for someone who does—because it brings intensely practical insights to this modern scourge. I highly recommend reading it at least a couple of times."
Dr David Bell (Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney)
So begins David McDonald’s desperate search for hope through the unflinching gaze of his terminal cancer diagnosis. His dreams shattered, his family distraught, his body wracked by chemotherapy and his faith severely tested, this Christian pastor went back to the Bible to find out for Is God there? Does he care? When there is no cure, does God still offer hope?
...
"No matter what you believe in, when struck down in your prime by a terminal illness, the reality of our human mortality can hit like a tsunami. Hope Beyond Cure is a remarkable story of courage, resilience, belief and the power of faith."
Rob Clarke (CEO, Rebels Super Rugby Club, Melbourne)
"This is a moving read, raw and open. It shows the real hope Christians have. But this is also a book for those with no faith— who have cancer or who care for someone who does—because it brings intensely practical insights to this modern scourge. I highly recommend reading it at least a couple of times."
Dr David Bell (Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney)
67 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 9, 2013
About the author
David McDonald
103 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 31, 2017
A simple and digestible read, yet one which consists of page after page of life-changing hope and perspective. Presented with no punches held back, David McDonald's journey of struggle, pain, doubt and fear are all brought to a challenging reality that leaves the reader asking questions that can't be ignored.
March 1, 2021
As someone who has not had cancer but is close to some currently suffering, this book helpfully gives an inside view of the struggle as well as the Christian hope. It is a wonderful reminder that our fears, dreams and circumstances should not keep us from the good works God has prepared for us and that life is short. I wanted something to pass on to a non-Christian friend but I am not certain this will be right for her, I plan to pass it on to a Christian whose world has shrunk in fear.
June 4, 2017
A good book on the topic of suffering and facing your own mortality from a Christian point of view. There are just a couple chapters about McDonald's diagnosis, treatment, and personal response to the reality of facing a terminal disease. The rest of the book is the way he responded, by studying the Word of God. He covers salvation, God's love, redeeming the time, and other topics in a pretty solid Biblical way. I was convicted by quite a few of his statements. He talks about how people have "bucket lists", which I also have, and how they are often selfish and expensive (many of mine are!). He talks about how that all changes when you are facing the reality of your own mortality, and how you need to focus on making a difference in the lives of people with the time you have. His quote, "It's about focusing on how and where I can make a difference that will count for eternity.". Ouch. That hardly means big vacations or learning to play the piano. A good solid book for anyone, and particularly good for anyone facing suffering.
March 5, 2019
I picked up this book after hearing David McDonald share his testimony of knowing Jesus in the face of a a devastating cancer diagnosis. I was struck by the fact that he focussed not on the incredible recovery that had taken place by that point, but on the difference that came from putting his hope in God and thus finding an unfailing "hope beyond cure."
This book was written before the incredible recovery occurred, and so if anything the reality of the hope is even more present here. The result is a short book that would be a good gift to anyone grappling with a similar situation, whether a believer with doubts or an unbeliever (with caution - it wouldn't be suitable for everyone).
The only slight disappointment is that I was expecting more of his personal testimony throughout, whereas his personal story was a kind of prelude to more generalised evangelistic material. Even so, what he says is true, and in light of his experiences, powerfully authentic.
This book was written before the incredible recovery occurred, and so if anything the reality of the hope is even more present here. The result is a short book that would be a good gift to anyone grappling with a similar situation, whether a believer with doubts or an unbeliever (with caution - it wouldn't be suitable for everyone).
The only slight disappointment is that I was expecting more of his personal testimony throughout, whereas his personal story was a kind of prelude to more generalised evangelistic material. Even so, what he says is true, and in light of his experiences, powerfully authentic.
August 20, 2014
I need ten more copies of this book, to give away. The first ten walked before I'd even read it myself. Now that I have read it, I'm glad they all went.
Dave McDonald - Macca, in typical Australianese - shares with us some of his own questioning and answers after diagnosis with inoperable lung cancer. He was already Christian, but even that was thrown up in the air by the reality of a terminal diagnosis.
This short, readable book shares how the reality of death helped Macca grasp more firmly onto the reality of faith, hope and love.
Recommended.
Dave McDonald - Macca, in typical Australianese - shares with us some of his own questioning and answers after diagnosis with inoperable lung cancer. He was already Christian, but even that was thrown up in the air by the reality of a terminal diagnosis.
This short, readable book shares how the reality of death helped Macca grasp more firmly onto the reality of faith, hope and love.
Recommended.
June 9, 2016
I bought this to give to my father as he's just been diagnosed with secondary melanoma and thought I should read it first. This short book offers its readers an opportunity to find a bigger hope beyond a cure for cancer or any other difficult circumstance we face in life. It is easy to read and David points out very clearly where the greatest hope we can have comes from. I would recommend this to anyone who is suffering, I would recommend it even as a gift to be given to those suffering. It is written with non Christians in mind but as a Christian myself I found it helpful.
March 30, 2017
A well written & thoughtful book encouraging us to remember/find who & what we put our hope in. David is open & honest about his struggle & the pain in this life but also his initial and then ongoing response to a terminal diagnosis.
Live life with an eternal view.
Live life with an eternal view.
February 24, 2018
Not what I expected and not sure what to say about it. Perhaps just that hope is something we all need, whether we are hit by cancer, something else or nothing much. This book may be just what some need when facing their crisis of hopelessness.
August 9, 2018
"Where else we set our hope when the inevitable day arrives and death knocks on our door? God calls us to set our hope on the things to come; he calls us to hope beyond a cure, to hope beyond death. He urges us to take hold of eternal hope by putting our trust in Jesus Christ."
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Hope Beyond Cure is a call for those suffering from cancer or witnessing a loved one suffer from cancer and other illness to put their hope beyond death, in Christ. David was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in his 50th year of life. In the midst of this shock, he expresses how his faith in the saving power of Christ's death and resurrection gave him hope. He outlines the evidence for Christ, whilst also explaining how hope in the things of this life is futile, especially when seen through the lens of cancer.
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This little book is filled with powerful truths and is a clear explanation of the hope to be found in the gospel, whilst living in a world marred by sickness. It is a raw and unflinchingly honest read, but also immensely encouraging. I'd recommend it to anyone grappling with the reality of human mortality or struggling with the pain of illness.
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Rating: 4.5 stars
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Hope Beyond Cure is a call for those suffering from cancer or witnessing a loved one suffer from cancer and other illness to put their hope beyond death, in Christ. David was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in his 50th year of life. In the midst of this shock, he expresses how his faith in the saving power of Christ's death and resurrection gave him hope. He outlines the evidence for Christ, whilst also explaining how hope in the things of this life is futile, especially when seen through the lens of cancer.
-
This little book is filled with powerful truths and is a clear explanation of the hope to be found in the gospel, whilst living in a world marred by sickness. It is a raw and unflinchingly honest read, but also immensely encouraging. I'd recommend it to anyone grappling with the reality of human mortality or struggling with the pain of illness.
-
Rating: 4.5 stars
November 14, 2014
We will all, one day, die. That realisation can be a terrifying thought, and one that we are remarkably good at pushing to the back of our minds, but we all have to face it at some point.
Nothing sets you face to face with your own mortality quite as squarely as stage-4 lung cancer. In *Hope Beyond Cure*, David McDonald tells the story of his own cancer diagnosis. After twenty years of pastoring Crossroads Christian Church in Canberra (my own home church, when I'm in that part of the world), he and his family were getting ready to move and get involved in ministry all the way over in Darwin when cancer arrived and completely demolished their plans. Within a couple of weeks, he went from having big hopes for future ministry to looking at probable death within about a year. This little book is about the hope Dave has — real and powerful hope — even in the midst of his cancer.
Dave notes that there are many things that can give us hope during our life. We can have hope in medicines, in a healthy lifestyle and in loving relationships with others. He reminds us that these are all good things, but, ultimately, they don't bring lasting hope — all of these things will come to an end with death. Instead, Dave's primary purpose is to point to a deeper hope, a hope beyond death. He warns us against getting so caught up in the very good hopes that we have in medicine and lifestyle and all the rest that we forget about the very best hope we have — the only hope that will last. I think nearly all of us, in our quest to ignore the reality of death, do this only too often.
So what is this "best hope", this hope beyond death? Dave explains that it is based on the gospel of Jesus Christ and "the reality that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried in a tomb, and then resurrected from the dead". He clearly explains that our deepest problem is "not cancer — it's sin". It is as a result of our sin that God has allowed pain and suffering to come into the world, but he still loves us and sent Jesus to suffer our punishment in our place. "We can find hope in the face of our own deaths by placing our faith in Jesus's death. Without Jesus we're headed for death and judgement, but with Jesus we can look forward to a hope-filled future in relationship with God."
Dave is careful to show his audience that this hope based on faith in the gospel of Jesus is not misplaced; it is not a crutch invented to soften the difficult reality of death. He honestly tells us how, when faced with his own death, he began to question whether the message he had believed was real. He had to be completely sure. In the book, he shares with us some of the things that have convinced him that his faith is absolutely based on the truth, including the persuasive evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a really important part of the book, because it shows us that this "hope" is not about making dying people feel good — it's a genuine, substantial hope that's based on verifiable truth.
Not only does Dave remind us of the wonderful hope we have in Jesus, he shows us how this hope should influence our life. "…faith and hope set us free to love. We know longer need to worry about our own needs, because God has them covered. And so faith and hope set us free to live — right here and now, even in the midst of pain and suffering — in love". He reminds us how Jesus suffered terrible things, and how God worked through that terrible suffering to bring us hope. "In a similar way, God is able to bring about great good through our pain and suffering." Dave relates how God has used his own suffering with lung cancer for great purposes, including in helping him to show love in various ways to others affected by cancer. This was quite inspiring and challenging, I found, because it shows how our hope is not just a passive thing, an insurance, rather it's something that should motivate us to reach outwards and bring hope and love to others.
Hope Beyond Cure is only a short book, but it's powerful — both very encouraging and also potentially quite confronting. It's a great book to read and to give to anyone: Christian or non-Christian; healthy or sick; young or old. We will all die one day, and we all need to be reminded about the hope that exists beyond cure because of what Jesus has done. It's especially powerful because it is written by someone who has experienced cancer himself, and been faced with death. It doesn't feel trite or superficial or misguided: it's honest and real, as written by someone who has grappled with the big questions that we all have to grapple with some time (but that most of us are putting off).
I will also add that this book has been especially encouraging for me because I know Dave's family personally, especially his two younger children. I've been very encouraged by them and their faith, which was clearly strong even when their Dad was diagnosed. It makes the book all the more powerful, because you can see how their hope actually impacts their lives.
If you want to get a copy of this book, I believe you can order it from www.matthiasmedia.com in the US or www.matthiasmedia.com.au in the rest of the world. You can also read more stuff from Dave at his blog, macarisms.com.
Nothing sets you face to face with your own mortality quite as squarely as stage-4 lung cancer. In *Hope Beyond Cure*, David McDonald tells the story of his own cancer diagnosis. After twenty years of pastoring Crossroads Christian Church in Canberra (my own home church, when I'm in that part of the world), he and his family were getting ready to move and get involved in ministry all the way over in Darwin when cancer arrived and completely demolished their plans. Within a couple of weeks, he went from having big hopes for future ministry to looking at probable death within about a year. This little book is about the hope Dave has — real and powerful hope — even in the midst of his cancer.
Dave notes that there are many things that can give us hope during our life. We can have hope in medicines, in a healthy lifestyle and in loving relationships with others. He reminds us that these are all good things, but, ultimately, they don't bring lasting hope — all of these things will come to an end with death. Instead, Dave's primary purpose is to point to a deeper hope, a hope beyond death. He warns us against getting so caught up in the very good hopes that we have in medicine and lifestyle and all the rest that we forget about the very best hope we have — the only hope that will last. I think nearly all of us, in our quest to ignore the reality of death, do this only too often.
So what is this "best hope", this hope beyond death? Dave explains that it is based on the gospel of Jesus Christ and "the reality that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried in a tomb, and then resurrected from the dead". He clearly explains that our deepest problem is "not cancer — it's sin". It is as a result of our sin that God has allowed pain and suffering to come into the world, but he still loves us and sent Jesus to suffer our punishment in our place. "We can find hope in the face of our own deaths by placing our faith in Jesus's death. Without Jesus we're headed for death and judgement, but with Jesus we can look forward to a hope-filled future in relationship with God."
Dave is careful to show his audience that this hope based on faith in the gospel of Jesus is not misplaced; it is not a crutch invented to soften the difficult reality of death. He honestly tells us how, when faced with his own death, he began to question whether the message he had believed was real. He had to be completely sure. In the book, he shares with us some of the things that have convinced him that his faith is absolutely based on the truth, including the persuasive evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a really important part of the book, because it shows us that this "hope" is not about making dying people feel good — it's a genuine, substantial hope that's based on verifiable truth.
Not only does Dave remind us of the wonderful hope we have in Jesus, he shows us how this hope should influence our life. "…faith and hope set us free to love. We know longer need to worry about our own needs, because God has them covered. And so faith and hope set us free to live — right here and now, even in the midst of pain and suffering — in love". He reminds us how Jesus suffered terrible things, and how God worked through that terrible suffering to bring us hope. "In a similar way, God is able to bring about great good through our pain and suffering." Dave relates how God has used his own suffering with lung cancer for great purposes, including in helping him to show love in various ways to others affected by cancer. This was quite inspiring and challenging, I found, because it shows how our hope is not just a passive thing, an insurance, rather it's something that should motivate us to reach outwards and bring hope and love to others.
Hope Beyond Cure is only a short book, but it's powerful — both very encouraging and also potentially quite confronting. It's a great book to read and to give to anyone: Christian or non-Christian; healthy or sick; young or old. We will all die one day, and we all need to be reminded about the hope that exists beyond cure because of what Jesus has done. It's especially powerful because it is written by someone who has experienced cancer himself, and been faced with death. It doesn't feel trite or superficial or misguided: it's honest and real, as written by someone who has grappled with the big questions that we all have to grapple with some time (but that most of us are putting off).
I will also add that this book has been especially encouraging for me because I know Dave's family personally, especially his two younger children. I've been very encouraged by them and their faith, which was clearly strong even when their Dad was diagnosed. It makes the book all the more powerful, because you can see how their hope actually impacts their lives.
If you want to get a copy of this book, I believe you can order it from www.matthiasmedia.com in the US or www.matthiasmedia.com.au in the rest of the world. You can also read more stuff from Dave at his blog, macarisms.com.
May 16, 2023
Encouraging for a Christian yet also a book I’d feel I can give to a non-Christian (for hope and evangelism!).
September 28, 2022
This book is balm for anyone who has heard the words, cancer incurable. He speaks in a way that is full of the reality of the struggle as well as the hope that we have in Jesus. I highly recommend it to the caregiver as well as the patient.
August 18, 2023
This is such a comforting book and I love how he is so vulnerable with his experience going through cancer, and how at times he was questioning God! But through the midst of it, he acknowledges that God has helped Him to be patient and grow in his humility.
Most of it all he praises God through this journey! It is a good read!!
Most of it all he praises God through this journey! It is a good read!!
November 3, 2017
This is a testimonial story of a Christian pastor who discovers that he has an inoperable tumour in his lung, and that his condition is terminal, he falls into despair and then reflects on the title a hope beyond cure. His faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
At its heart and at its core this is a theological book, and an evangelistic book. This book is written with people who have no experience of church in mind, and is written more about the hope in Christ than in the intimate details of life with cancer.
In fact, the testimonial side is really a peripheral issue, and more of a springboard to get to the main point of putting your hope not in anything in this world, but in Jesus.
The book is well written, and because of the above certainly passes the tapestry test. If you pulled the 'thread' of God and theology from this book you would have no book left.
It would have been nice to see some more detail on the events of what happened, but the authors focus clearly is not on himself, it is not about disease or healing, but putting your hope in the true source of hope Jesus,
It is a a quick read, at 90 pages in paperback, and can be knocked off in a short time. The book was given to me as a gift and I shall now pass it on.
At its heart and at its core this is a theological book, and an evangelistic book. This book is written with people who have no experience of church in mind, and is written more about the hope in Christ than in the intimate details of life with cancer.
In fact, the testimonial side is really a peripheral issue, and more of a springboard to get to the main point of putting your hope not in anything in this world, but in Jesus.
The book is well written, and because of the above certainly passes the tapestry test. If you pulled the 'thread' of God and theology from this book you would have no book left.
It would have been nice to see some more detail on the events of what happened, but the authors focus clearly is not on himself, it is not about disease or healing, but putting your hope in the true source of hope Jesus,
It is a a quick read, at 90 pages in paperback, and can be knocked off in a short time. The book was given to me as a gift and I shall now pass it on.
January 15, 2015
Great honest read
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews