Finding God in Life's Valleys: Dr. Karen Hyden's "Back to Hope"
Growing up as a sensitive, redheaded girl in Florida, Karen Hyden learned early to seek validation through achievement and perfectionism. Yet beneath her drive to be "enough," anxiety and fear were taking root, eventually spiraling into an eating disorder that would mark just the beginning of her complicated journey with illness, faith, and healing.
In "Back to Hope," Dr. Hyden pulls back the curtain on her life with striking honesty - from her teenage battle with anorexia to becoming a wife and mother while battling mysterious inflammatory flares that would take over 20 years to diagnose as chronic Lyme disease. She shares intimate details of her marriage nearly crumbling under the weight of betrayal and how God led them through to redemption.
What makes this memoir different is how Dr. Hyden weaves together her medical expertise as a nurse practitioner with raw spiritual vulnerability. She doesn't shy away from the hard parts - the moments of despair, the dark nights of questioning God, the times she wanted to give up. Instead, she shows how God met her in those valleys, teaching her spiritual warfare and slowly rebuilding her trust.
Her story feels like sitting with a friend who's brave enough to share both her scars and her victories. From raising children while pursuing multiple advanced degrees to eventually becoming a healthcare leader and ordained minister, Dr. Hyden reveals how God used every challenge to shape her purpose: helping others find freedom and healing in body, spirit, and soul.
The pages of "Back to Hope" hold wisdom for anyone facing chronic illness, relationship struggles, or seasons of doubt. But more than that, they remind us that our stories - even the chapters we wish we could erase - matter. That God can use our deepest wounds to bring hope to others.
Today, Dr. Hyden combines her medical background with pastoral counseling to guide others toward wholeness. Her memoir stands as living proof that God never wastes our pain. That even when the path seems darkest, He's still writing a story of redemption.
"Back to Hope" is a testament to getting back up after life knocks you down, to choosing faith when doubt feels easier, and to trusting God's plan even when it looks nothing like what you imagined. For anyone wondering if their suffering has meaning, Dr. Hyden's journey lights the way forward.
