Lou Torok, the author of several self-help articles for a wide
variety of magazines, spent much of his life following service in the U.S. Navy during World
War II promoting the sale of newspapers and magazines for the William Randolph Hearst Syndicate
in the promotion department of the San Francisco Examiner. The founder of Prison Pen Pals, he
recently wrote the Abbey Press Care Notes pamphlet entitled Finding Hope When You Are in
Prison. This book continues his discussion on finding hope in times of personal need.
Reviews
"The manuscript is a gem. I had forgotten you wrote so well... so clearly; but more than the
writing, it is the Spirit which triumphs in this labor of love. --Fr.
John Catoir, Former Director of The Christophers, Presently
Director of Eva's Place
and St. Jude Media Ministries, Paterson, NJ
"When You Hurt by Lou Torok is meant for everyone inasmuch as all of us at some time in
our lives experience pain of body, mind or spirit. It is clear, convincing and easy-to-read.
Torok's objective is to suggest "ways to cope when we are in pain and to turn our crosses into
sources of peace and concern for others who may be suffering more than we." The booklet's
recommendations are based on Christian perspectives of the problem: "We can understand and cope
with suffering by pondering it in the pain and suffering of Jesus." The introduction presents a
varied slate of people -- nuns, priests, acquaintances, professional people -- whom the author
helped with extraordinary personal problems with his prayers and messages of advice and
encouragement. He dedicates this book to all of them. Chapter One describes the continuing
relationship Torok enjoyed with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, via letters, phone calls and personal
meetings. She counseled him: "In His passion Jesus taught us to forgive out of love and to forget
out of humility." Thus, Mother Teresa became Torok's personal saint throughout his life of
writing, suffering and counseling. The remaining eleven chapters comprise a lode of powerful
spiritual riches and personal encouragement for the reader. Torok peppers his chapters with
philosophical and spiritual gems from the mouths of impressive and ordinary Christians -- Mother
Teresa, poet Robert Frost, St. Augustine, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., psychiatrist Dr. Karl
Menninger, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, poet Robert Browning, Albert Einstein, Napoleon
Bonaparte and Dr. Tom Dooley. In Chapter Eleven, "Life Is Not Fair," he finally recommends a
panacea for hurt -- the virtue of hope. "Hope is not just something to develop when your entire
world is turned upside down. It can be used to bring peace and happiness, any time the worry and
anxiety of daily life become more than we think we can handle." These little gems of wisdom,
spread liberally through the book, make When You Hurt a treasure trove of invaluable spiritual
insights. Following the pages of philosophical and theological material is Chapter Twelve
entitled "Healing Prayers and Thoughts." It is a twelve-page compilation of thirty prayers,
meditations and poems from St. Augustine, Thomas Merton, Fulton J. Sheen, Mother Teresa, Martin
Luther King, Jr., St. Teresa and others. These can counsel and console many who suffer the
problems, hurts and pains of daily life. When You Hurt will sooth aching bodies and souls with
a complete inspiring answer. It is, indeed, a mini-bible of love and consolation."
--Jack Walsh in Pastoral Life, May 2000
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