| Amazon.com
Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This anthology is broken down into the four basic categories of spiritual
journeys, according to the editors. 1) Wanderers and seekers--those who
pursue "all available experiences under the sun." 2) Pilgrims and missionaries--"individuals
whose life goal has been the unwavering pursuit of God." 3) Mystics and
visionaries--"who focus on supernatural experiences and epiphanies." 4)
Philosophers and scholars--those who "demonstrate a lifelong commitment
to the discernment of the truth through the exercise of the intellect."
By organizing spiritual quests into these themes, the authors create an
effect that is more liberating than confining, offering a clear context
for the sometimes ethereal and wrenching stories of real-life saints, rabbis,
writers, and pilgrims from all walks of life. Literary heroes add their
impassioned and tender stories of spiritual transformation, whether it
be Leo Tolstoy's excerpt from The Confession, Madeleine L'Engle's
self-revealing story of forgiveness and the sensuality of the human body,
or Annie Dillard's tug of war with a loving God who allows terrible things
to happen to good people. Spiritual seekers will no doubt find their own
stories in this stimulating and expansive dedication to the soul's eternal
pilgrimage. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
What is the source of personal writing? When do we begin to consider
our own lives worthy of a story? These powerful and passionate selections
of spiritual autobiography do not merely represent a vital literary tradition;
they bring together fifty-eight writers whose search for truth and understanding
has spanned over two millennia and several continents. From Saint Augustine
and Rabi'a to T. S. Eliot and Kathleen Norris, each of these autobiographers
tells the story of the inner life as a... |