40 Days at a Dumpster
Finding Healing and Grace in the Garbage, Second Edition
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
What started out as a flippant dare that was thrown out into the spiritual atmosphere turned into a journey by a dumpster that turned my assumptions of myself and God upside down. I didn't think God would show up in messy places like back alleys, places of injustice, and my heart. But He did. Through visions, contemplations, and a different way of communicating with God, this book has become my testimony of healing. It recounts the most uncomfortable road that I have ever willingly walked down. This is a journey of the thousands of small steps I took while I sat for forty days at a dumpster.
Endorsements (5)
“40 Days at a Dumpster by Pam Van Dop is a beautifully written and courageous work that powerfully reminds us that God is present in our struggles and that we can trust him through every season of life. Pam’s intimate journey through her wrestle with God invites readers into a profound healing experience, fostering a deeper connection with the Lord. It’s a compelling read that will touch the hearts of many.”
“Praise for the first edition: “In a church culture that is hemorrhaging ‘the faithful,’ we need to tap into the experience of those who dared ask the questions and have come out the other side! Pam writes about her experience of going back to the genesis of her big pain to find God and ask the haunting questions she had lived with for decades. Her experience with grace and the understanding of what it truly is will leave you hope-filled and expectant. Pam is a brilliant writer, and you may just find yourself sitting right beside her on this journey.”
“Pam Van Dop’s account of her prayer/healing journey, twenty years after her deep wounding, teems with evocative, pastoral reflections. 40 Days at a Dumpster seamlessly weaves together longings for the Lord’s gracious presence, remembered trauma, biblical wisdom, encouragement from others, and brief teachings from wise Christian elders as it narrates its six-week passage. There are more folks in all of our social circles with similar experiences than meet the eye; consequently, there are blessings here for every reader.”
“While this is Pam’s journey, it reiterates the process of transformation we all must take at some time. Her wrestling between faith and her mental wellbeing is a vital message for us all, especially that faith and mental wellness are not mutually exclusive. Often our journey to emotional healing is rugged and rough—pieces of us get chipped off, cut and torn, scraped, and bloody. But, as she so clearly shares, we are not alone in that struggle and transformation. Jesus walks with us, lovingly prodding, nudging, revealing, and encouraging us.”
“What if we aren’t as fine with it as we hoped we were? 40 Days at a Dumpster is a deeply honest, no-holds-barred look at the way we interact with pain, suffering, and disappointment with God. This book is candid without sensationalizing the deepest, most vulnerable thoughts and questions that many of us have had about our own lives but dared not express. Pam shows us how to scratch that itch we can’t reach, and she cuts through our religious conditioning with a firm but gentle hand. Pam is a trustworthy guide as she invites us to join her on a transformative journey of letting go, embracing mystery, and rising to find the new life Jesus promised us.”
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