Emily Parker spoke with Alain Emerson about the loss of his first wife, how to process grief, and why he wrote Luminous Dark.

Thirdly, I would say, find in the scriptures a place, particularly in the Psalms, maybe parts of Job, or Lamentations, where you can find the language that helps connect and get your pain. The psalmist is full of the most heart wrenching, seemingly godforsaken places that we don't often read out in church, but actually God has written the Bible to give us a language to express the pain that we feel, and it's called prayer.

For me, that was what I really wanted at that point, particularly in those early days of loss and grief. I wasn't ready for hope. At that point I just wanted somebody to get where I was.

I think the Bible is such a rich resource, and so I talk about that in the book; about some of the psalms that don't really have any hope. As much as there are lots in the psalms, the psalms don't let us stay in this place of despair. They do eventually bring us into hope, but they do give space; they don't rush us through to victory, if that's the way to put it. They don't rush us through to this superficial, artificial victory. They validate the pain that we feel in that particular moment. I think that's the integrity of the scriptures and why I have such a high view of them now, particularly in some of that Old Testament wisdom and literature.

Emily: If anybody wants to get hold of a copy of the book, how can they do so and find out more?

Alain: I think the best place is on Muddy Pearl, the publisher's website. You can go straight onto that website; they have a number of books that they've published and mine is on there. Just click on Luminous Dark and then another click to order your book.