We Are All Worthy Of Love

Jun 5

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Daivd Giffen Author Interview

Redemptive Trauma: Confession of a Defrocked Priest shares your story about living with addiction and mental health issues and how you now advocate for the de-stigmatization of them. Why was this an important book for you to write?

The book is a memoir; a eulogy to both the first half of my life and my life as an ordained Anglican priest. It is a book about male vulnerability and learning the deep value of empathy, while tackling mental health and the associated stigma, which often buries those who suffer. I tell stories about sex, drugs, alcohol and abuse, through the lens of grace, mercy and love. This book is about generational trauma and rediscovering family. Ultimately, Redemptive Trauma is about reconciling hope, and calling home prodigals of all kinds.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?

The hardest thing to write about was my Mum. In many ways, we grew up together. There is no one who sacrificed more so I could tell my story.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

Idea 1: Love is the most bullshit word in the English language. Understanding the lack of English vocabulary for love, and discovering new ways to break open the word at its core, provides new lenses to see the heart of one of the most important words across all languages.

Idea 2: We are all worthy of love. No matter what you have done; no matter what you are going to do… you are worthy of some form of love.

Idea 3: Secrets keep people sick. Secrets are what cause families to stay quiet about abuse, and trauma, and neglect. Secrets are how addicts force their loved ones to enable their behaviour. Secrets are how gossip poisons communities and relationships and toxifies the brain with deceit. Failure we all have. Darkness we all face. Brokenness we cannot escape. But secrets, we can defeat.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

No matter how bad things are: There is hope.

Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

David Giffen was once a defrocked priest.

Having spent a decade as an Anglican cleric in Southwestern Ontario, David served in leadership in three urban social-justice focused appointments as a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. David was deprived of ministry and terminated from his appointment as incumbent priest of his parish on December 12th, 2018. He was in his fourth month on medical leave. David was formally accused, investigated and found guilty of sexual misconduct, all while he was drugged out, melting down on social media.

As someone working to heal from traumatic stress injuries from childhood, David’s diagnosis with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2018 led him to become a public advocate for the de-stigmatization of mental health and addiction issues (especially when related to generational trauma). He quickly learned the challenges and opportunities this presents, as he himself is one of the examples. Redemptive Trauma: Confession of a Defrocked Priest is a memoir embracing hard truths of trauma to help others heal their own.

David holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Huron University College at the Western University in London, Ontario. For most of his adult life, David served as a street-involved pastor in Toronto and London. His major focuses of ministry were related to social outreach, restorative justice, and learning to wrestle with life and faith in the rapidly evolving social media age.

The author is almost certain that if you don’t like stories about sex, drugs, rock stars, alcohol, and the uneven rise and fall of the guilty and the innocent, you probably won’t like the Bible either. Or this book. Otherwise, go ahead, dig into both.

Posted on June 5, 2023, in Interviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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