Desire
The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow

Quotes

“Jay Stringer brilliantly invites us to a well-researched, richly imagined, and compellingly written understanding of what he calls the inner civil war of competing desires. His scholarship and personal honesty will give you a new path to offer kindness to your soul and the conflicts that have beset you. I say with no fear of exaggeration—this will be one of the most important books you will read for knowing yourself and others.”—Dan B. Allender, PhD, professor of counseling psychology, founding president of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology

“A master class in caring for the human spirit, Desire turns the work of hospitality inward, changing how you understand love, purpose, and what it means to serve those around you, and yourself.”—Will Guidara, New York Times bestselling author of Unreasonable Hospitality

“Jay Stringer wants to give you permission—permission to stop running; to stop trying so hard; to stop the self-criticism; and, most of all, to start desiring again. This book is a much-needed corrective to strategies that get you almost there—but never quite feeling free and healed. Desire has the immense power to actually help people change and grow. Take this invitation to excavate buried desires and move toward an authentic, whole, and integrated you!”—Sheila Wray Gregoire, founder of BareMarriagedotcom, author of The Great Sex Rescue

“We tend to treat desire as a problem to solve or a temptation to resist, but Jay Stringer’s new book argues it’s actually a signal—pointing us toward growth, wholeness, and connection. After reading Desire, you’ll learn to understand what your heart is trying to say and how to work with desire rather than against it. It’s insightful, healing, and genuinely helpful.”—Donald Miller, New York Times bestselling author, CEO of StoryBrand and Business Made Simple

“If you’ve ever felt conflicted about what you want, about who taught you to want it, or why desire can feel like both a miracle and a minefield—Desire is the book you need. This book feels like sitting with a trusted friend who tells you the truth with kindness, inviting you toward compassion instead of shame.”—Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author, host of the For the Love podcast

“Finally, a book that lays out a roadmap for you to understand your core desires, giving you a clear path and tools to build a life where your desires are satisfied and prioritized, instead of hidden and riddled with shame.”—Connor Beaton, founder of ManTalks and author of Men’s Work

“Stringer offers his readers empathy, understanding, and, surprisingly, a demand that desire be taken seriously in all with which God has imbued it and imagines for us. Read this and begin to practice living what it means for God to give you the desires of your heart.”—Curt Thompson, MD, psychiatrist, author of The Soul of Desire and The Deepest Place