Healing & Freedom with Jonah, an author interview
In which Jim Cooper Jr. talks about his book, *Drowning in Drama*
Fellow Pilgrims,
Today, I’m grateful to Jim Cooper for sharing with us about his book Drowning in Drama. Read my interview with Jim below.
BFJ: The cover is striking. Tell us about it?
JC: The cover was created by Kyle Lundburg at Wipf & Stock, and honestly, he really picked up what I was putting down. I wanted it to carry a sense of brooding turmoil—the kind of chaos you feel both in the sea and in the middle of relational drama.
The greys and blues give it that stormy, unsettled feel, which contrasts with the title Drowning in Drama. There’s also an opaque triangle layered into the design. Along with the subtitle Jonah and the Drama Triangle, it subtly points to the triangulated relationships that sit at the heart of the book.
It’s meant to draw you into that tension—the kind Jonah experienced, and the kind many of us find ourselves caught in—while also hinting that there’s something deeper going on beneath the surface.
BFJ: Why did you write the book?
JC: I wrote Drowning in Drama out of a deeply personal journey of pain, betrayal, and unexpected renewal. When my wife experienced a violation of trust within the church, we found ourselves caught in cycles of power, silence, and relational tension. Over time, I began to see these patterns through the lens of the Drama Triangle—victim, rescuer, and persecutor—and recognized them not only in our story, but in myself. I wanted to help the church—especially believers and leaders—navigate relationships more faithfully. Through Jonah’s story, this book invites readers to embrace vulnerability, surrender control, and discover a Christ-shaped path toward healing and freedom.
BFJ: Give us the short version: what’s the book about?
JC: Drowning in Drama explores how unhealthy relational patterns—victim, rescuer, and persecutor—shape our lives, leadership, and churches. Drawing from personal experience and the story of Jonah, it reframes these dynamics theologically, revealing how we cycle through control, blame, and avoidance. Using the Winner’s Triangle, it invites believers and leaders into a Christ-shaped way of relating marked by vulnerability, responsibility, and healthy boundaries. Ultimately, this book shows how Christ is both the archetype and antitype of Jonah—succeeding where Jonah failed—entering our cosmic Theodrama as the true victim and opening a way for freedom and restoration of all.
BFJ: Share a detail you’re fond of from the book?
JC: One detail I’m particularly fond of is the idea that our sympathy can actually be misplaced—and even work against what God is doing in us and others. In Jonah, the sailors look compassionate at first. They try to save Jonah, to avoid doing something harsh. But in reality, their reluctance delays obedience and prolongs the storm.
What looks like kindness can sometimes be a subtle form of self-protection or even complicity. The turning point comes when they surrender and do the hard thing—releasing Jonah to God. That moment, though severe, becomes deeply loving in the larger story. It’s a reminder that true compassion is aligned with God’s purposes, not just our instincts.
BFJ: What do people mistakenly assume when they hear about your book?
JC: One of the biggest assumptions people make is that they already know the story of Jonah—and that there’s not much new to discover. It’s a familiar story: a prophet runs, a storm rises, a fish swallows him, and Nineveh repents. Because of that familiarity, many assume another book on Jonah will simply retell what they’ve already heard.
But what I’ve found is that we often know the story without truly seeing it. This book offers a fresh and deeply practical lens, engaging Jonah through the dynamics of the Drama Triangle and the lived realities of our relationships. It helps readers recognize themselves in Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninevites.
More than that, it reframes Jonah in light of Christ—showing how Jesus not only fulfills the story, but transforms it. Christ steps into our drama, not just as an example, but as the one who succeeds where Jonah failed, opening a real path toward freedom, healing, and a new way of relating.
BFJ: How does the book relate to your experience of discipleship?
JC: This book is deeply tied to my own journey of discipleship. If I’m honest, I’ve had to grow in recognizing how much of my “responsibility” in relationships was actually driven by anxiety —fear of outcomes, fear of how others would perceive me, and fear of losing control.
I often stepped into the rescuer role, taking on burdens that weren’t mine, thinking that was what faithfulness looked like. But through this journey—and through Jonah—I’ve had to learn that true discipleship isn’t about controlling outcomes or managing others. It’s about surrender.
Learning to release people, outcomes, and even my good intentions to God has been one of the hardest and most freeing parts of following Jesus.
BFJ: Are there difficulties in the spiritual life that your book can help to address?
JC: One of the most significant difficulties in the spiritual life is the tendency to run from pain instead of surrendering it to God. Like Jonah, we often reach for different “vehicles” to escape—whether that’s control, anger, distraction, or even doing more for God—rather than honestly facing what’s going on inside of us. The problem isn’t that the pain isn’t real—it is. The problem is that we avoid bringing that pain into relationship with God. When we keep running, we stay stuck. But when we begin to slow down and vulnerably surrender our hurt to God, it becomes the very place where He begins to do His deepest work in us.
Another major difficulty is how easily we get pulled into unhealthy relational patterns shaped by fear, control, and misplaced responsibility. We move between trying to fix people, feeling responsible for things that aren’t ours to carry, or reacting when things don’t go the way we think they should. Even our good intentions can work against what God is doing when they are driven by anxiety instead of trust. This leads to exhaustion and confusion in relationships. Growth in the spiritual life means learning to let go of control, trust God with others, and take responsibility for what is actually ours—while allowing God to do what only He can do.
Finally, a deep struggle and difficulty in the spiritual life is the tendency to settle for a kind of temporary peace instead of allowing God to form something deeper and more lasting. We often look for quick relief to calm the storm without addressing what’s underneath it. But God, in His love, will often disrupt that kind of peace, not to harm us, but to heal us. Real peace doesn’t come from escaping discomfort—it comes from trusting God in the middle of it. The spiritual life is less about quick fixes and more about a process of surrender, where over time God forms a deeper wholeness in us than we could ever create on our own.
BFJ: If you could gift everyone with one insight from the book, what would it be?
JC: If I could gift everyone with one insight from this book, it would be this: we are not powerless. Even amid real hurt and confusion, we are not stuck—we are invited to vulnerably surrender our pain, our need for control, and even our perceived ability to God and His vision. This kind of surrender is not weakness but the doorway to transformation, moving us out of cycles of drama and into a life marked by trust, responsibility, and true peace.
BFJ: How has your spiritual life and prayer life changed as you’ve matured?
JC: My spiritual life has been deeply shaped by an awareness that came through the Spirit illuminating Scripture—especially the story of Jonah. Through that, I began to recognize my own participation in relational drama and saw more clearly the power of trust and faithfulness expressed through surrender to Christ. It shifted my understanding of discipleship from managing outcomes to yielding to God’s work in me and through me.
Alongside that, my prayer life has changed significantly. It has moved from primarily speaking to God toward learning to listen to Him and attend to His presence. Prayer has become less about informing God and more about being formed by Him—allowing Christ to shape who I am in my relationships and how I respond to others.
BFJ: Besides your book, what are your top reading recommendations for folks who want to think more deeply about these matters? Why do you recommend them?
JC: Besides my book, two resources I regularly recommend are Rare Leadership by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, and Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown. Rare Leadership is especially helpful because it shows how a person can become more fully aware, integrated, and emotionally mature—whether leading or following. It offers a practical vision of what it looks like to lead from a place of relational health rather than reactivity or control.
Braving the Wilderness has also been deeply formative for me. Brown’s work helps name the difference between vulnerability and victimhood, inviting people to step into courageous, honest presence rather than hiding, posturing, or withdrawing. Together, these books complement the themes of my own work by offering both a framework and a pathway for growing in awareness, surrender, and relational maturity.
I’m grateful to Jim for taking the time to share with us. Buy the book here.
Grace & peace,
BFJ
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What an honor!