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shyk1ttyk1tty's review
5.0
This book has been an incredible source of hope for me during times of deep anguish. When I am floundering in my emotions and grief, this book shows me the way back to peace.
lydalbano's review
5.0
my first foray into the wonder that is Henri Nouwen (finally) and it did not disappoint. while not all of this applies to me, all of it spoke to me and touched me. I’m very grateful for this book coming along when it did. (and I also cried a lot at this book.)
ehays84's review
5.0
What an excellent book. Nouwen has really been through it, and so you trust him as you helps guide you through your troubles. There were so many excellent and deep insights in this book. It took me a while to get through, but that is because it is a series of devotionals meant to be read slowly and steadily. I can see a lot of growth in my life in the last year, and this book is a significant part of that.
This is one of the best books that you will find that contributes a true Christ centered view of the world with profound psychological insights. Recommend it to anyone you know who is going through a hard time.
This is one of the best books that you will find that contributes a true Christ centered view of the world with profound psychological insights. Recommend it to anyone you know who is going through a hard time.
thepermageek's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
One of Henri nouwen’s most intimate & personally painful books. At times it felt akin to reading a more Catholic version of Rainer Maria Rilke.
This might become my go-to recommendation whenever someone who is Christian tells me they are depressed and looking for resources/sources of hope.
This might become my go-to recommendation whenever someone who is Christian tells me they are depressed and looking for resources/sources of hope.
elianachow's review
5.0
Wow. Wow wow wow.
I wish I could have found this volume in my deepest valleys over the past several years, paralyzed often by depression, drained by spiritual warfare, and haunted by grief. There is so, so much light in Nouwen’s words—journaled originally only for himself during his own treacherous journey through the wilderness—beckoning us home to Jesus. But I also wonder if, in my stubbornness, I would not truly have been able to receive these truths until I had seen those dark nights of the soul through to the other side. I needed to learn such lessons the hard way, and then remain postured toward remembering and relearning, for many of our particular darknesses, griefs, sins, fears, and wounds prove to be continuous spaces of earthly sanctification.
It is alarming in a nourishing way to find that even as I can look backwards and know these lessons to be true, I can also look forward with a greater awareness of them as applied to present and future scenarios. And while the particular depth of pain may rise and fall with context, it seems we are always in need, in one way or another, of the deep well of comfort found in being honest both about our weakness and God’s strength. I resonate deeply with Nouwen’s experiences, wrestlings, and eventual (re)discoveries of spiritual rest as written here. His specific circumstances, specific fears, and specific comforts mapped almost exactly against mine, and for that manner, the ones of many other stories and people I know. That is quite wild. I am often astonished at how, though the path of each Christian is varied and unique, we are all ultimately led to the foundational Truth and truths that prismatically comprise belief and faith in Jesus. And so to recognize the Spirit in another, whatever the form of conversation (book or brunch or beyond), is such a comforting thing even as it challenges us to pursue that Spirit more faithfully, no matter how difficult the road.
What a strangely cyclical world we live in. What a faithful Lord who reveals himself in that mystery.
Whether you are presently in the midst of a blinding storm, or have now a renewed capacity to reflect on the lessons gathered from winds recently weathered, I commend Nouwen’s meditations to you.
I wish I could have found this volume in my deepest valleys over the past several years, paralyzed often by depression, drained by spiritual warfare, and haunted by grief. There is so, so much light in Nouwen’s words—journaled originally only for himself during his own treacherous journey through the wilderness—beckoning us home to Jesus. But I also wonder if, in my stubbornness, I would not truly have been able to receive these truths until I had seen those dark nights of the soul through to the other side. I needed to learn such lessons the hard way, and then remain postured toward remembering and relearning, for many of our particular darknesses, griefs, sins, fears, and wounds prove to be continuous spaces of earthly sanctification.
It is alarming in a nourishing way to find that even as I can look backwards and know these lessons to be true, I can also look forward with a greater awareness of them as applied to present and future scenarios. And while the particular depth of pain may rise and fall with context, it seems we are always in need, in one way or another, of the deep well of comfort found in being honest both about our weakness and God’s strength. I resonate deeply with Nouwen’s experiences, wrestlings, and eventual (re)discoveries of spiritual rest as written here. His specific circumstances, specific fears, and specific comforts mapped almost exactly against mine, and for that manner, the ones of many other stories and people I know. That is quite wild. I am often astonished at how, though the path of each Christian is varied and unique, we are all ultimately led to the foundational Truth and truths that prismatically comprise belief and faith in Jesus. And so to recognize the Spirit in another, whatever the form of conversation (book or brunch or beyond), is such a comforting thing even as it challenges us to pursue that Spirit more faithfully, no matter how difficult the road.
What a strangely cyclical world we live in. What a faithful Lord who reveals himself in that mystery.
Whether you are presently in the midst of a blinding storm, or have now a renewed capacity to reflect on the lessons gathered from winds recently weathered, I commend Nouwen’s meditations to you.
dbjorlin's review
4.0
As with all Nouwen, there are brilliant insights to be had in this book, but even as he speaks of the need to reintegrate his body into his spirituality and theology, his unnamed and unresolved personal turmoil around his own sexuality seem to lie just below the surface and keeps him from clarity. Yet, for those struggling from loneliness, broken relationships, self-loathing, and other forms of pain of the too-self-reflective, there is much wisdom.
hem's review
5.0
Perfect for the stage of life I'm in. So important and full of truth and encouragement!