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A review by ralovesbooks
A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine l'Engle, Author of a Wrinkle in Time by Sarah Arthur
4.0
Recommended, but know that the target audience is Christian readers
I was impressed with this new release! I had approached the book somewhat skeptically, standing back a bit with my arms crossed, not sure whether there was new ground to tread in terms of Madeleine and faith. Hadn’t Madeleine said it all herself, in her works on the topic? However, the book redeemed itself with primary accounts from Madeleine's friends and family, reflections on her as a writer and a person, and challenging, encouraging, invigorating words about the Christian faith in general. I’m glad I own a copy that I can refer back to, and it has definitely earned its spot in my Madeleine collection.
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At times, it's hard to tell where her influence leaves off and my own thinking begins. (18)
What would it look like to have friendships with those who are not like us, wherein we can learn to argue well and lovingly -- and yet at the end of the day we can still be friends? This is a lost art in our culture, particularly as we create ever narrower, taller, insular silos on social media, cut off from opposing viewpoints. ... False unity is no healthier than silos of like-mindedness. (43)
We affirm the faith by participating in its communal stories together. (82)
The radical call of faith is not to insist upon a set of universal principles about right and wrong, but to offer an alternative story by which lives can be shaped into new instincts, new practices, new ways of speaking and being in the world. (90)
Scientific pursuit, then, becomes a key spiritual discipline -- a gateway, the prelude, to worship. (117)
... she said, "We read stories, and we write stories because we ask the big questions to which there are no finite answers. We tell stories about people who give us our best answers, in the way that they live and work out their lives and treat other people and try to find the truth." If a novel isn't about those questions, then what is it doing? (123)
Prayer, worship, reading Scripture, breaking bread in community, spiritual counsel, and conversation with spiritual friends: all those are ways we put one foot in front of the other, even in the dark. These are the ways we practice believing. (190)
It starts with the closing of the shutters against the darkness. It starts with our determination to go to bed quietly and fearlessly, talking to God about our day. Then, when dawn comes, we can arise like Madeleine, open the shutters, and let in the light so lovely, whether we feel like it or not. (193)
... we don't inhabit some kind of eternal Pinterest board, surrounded by inspirational phrases and uncluttered homes and well-behaved children. That sounds just a little too much like Camazotz, actually. (201)
I was impressed with this new release! I had approached the book somewhat skeptically, standing back a bit with my arms crossed, not sure whether there was new ground to tread in terms of Madeleine and faith. Hadn’t Madeleine said it all herself, in her works on the topic? However, the book redeemed itself with primary accounts from Madeleine's friends and family, reflections on her as a writer and a person, and challenging, encouraging, invigorating words about the Christian faith in general. I’m glad I own a copy that I can refer back to, and it has definitely earned its spot in my Madeleine collection.
---
At times, it's hard to tell where her influence leaves off and my own thinking begins. (18)
What would it look like to have friendships with those who are not like us, wherein we can learn to argue well and lovingly -- and yet at the end of the day we can still be friends? This is a lost art in our culture, particularly as we create ever narrower, taller, insular silos on social media, cut off from opposing viewpoints. ... False unity is no healthier than silos of like-mindedness. (43)
We affirm the faith by participating in its communal stories together. (82)
The radical call of faith is not to insist upon a set of universal principles about right and wrong, but to offer an alternative story by which lives can be shaped into new instincts, new practices, new ways of speaking and being in the world. (90)
Scientific pursuit, then, becomes a key spiritual discipline -- a gateway, the prelude, to worship. (117)
... she said, "We read stories, and we write stories because we ask the big questions to which there are no finite answers. We tell stories about people who give us our best answers, in the way that they live and work out their lives and treat other people and try to find the truth." If a novel isn't about those questions, then what is it doing? (123)
Prayer, worship, reading Scripture, breaking bread in community, spiritual counsel, and conversation with spiritual friends: all those are ways we put one foot in front of the other, even in the dark. These are the ways we practice believing. (190)
It starts with the closing of the shutters against the darkness. It starts with our determination to go to bed quietly and fearlessly, talking to God about our day. Then, when dawn comes, we can arise like Madeleine, open the shutters, and let in the light so lovely, whether we feel like it or not. (193)
... we don't inhabit some kind of eternal Pinterest board, surrounded by inspirational phrases and uncluttered homes and well-behaved children. That sounds just a little too much like Camazotz, actually. (201)