In this Center for Asian American Christianity podcast episode, host David Chao interviews Dr. Jean Neely, a Korean American literature professor with a PhD in English literature and author of Christ in the Abyss: Cultivating Deep Faith Amid Depression and Despair (NavPress, June 2026). Neely recounts growing up in a Korean American church as a pastor’s daughter, experiencing severe depression and manic episodes in high school that led to crisis, hospitalization, and medication, and wrestling with Christian messages that “good Christians” shouldn’t struggle. She explains how supportive family, community, contemplative practices, spiritual direction, and reading beyond her tradition helped her move toward a more merciful understanding of God.
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:18 Jean’s Background and Calling
05:05 Diagnosis and Family Crisis
09:26 Faith Under Depression
12:04 Book Themes Living Amid
18:30 Why Stay Christian
22:54 What the Book Offers
26:42 Practices That Transformed
30:20 Writing Process and Craft
33:26 Guidance for Ministry Leaders
39:14 How Her View of God Changed
43:10 Psalm 139 and Closing
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash
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