The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom

by Henri J. M. Nouwen Narrated by Murray Bodo O.F.M.

Overview

"This book is my secret journal," Nouwen writes. At first, he had no intention of sharing this personal diary of the dark and difficult months when he felt all meaning in his life was missing and all ahead seemed a dark, bottomless abyss. In spite of his inner turmoil, Nouwen recorded the descent into his heart in these 63 journal entries.

Friends persuaded him that sharing his painful soul-searching might help others who also struggle to embrace life with joy.

Throughout his life, Nouwen longed for deeper relationships with others and with God. "Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply," he urges. While your heart may break, he says, you will then have a choice-to become bitter or to stand in your pain and become fruitful with God as the spiritual guide of your life. The inner voice is a voice of love.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Nouwen, Catholic priest and popular author (The Wounded Healer, 1972), hit a six-month spiritual and mental crisis at the end of 1987 during which he "wondered whether I would be able to hold on to my life. Everything came crashing downmy self-esteem, my energy to live and work, my sense of being loved, my hope for healing, my trust in God... everything." This book is his personal journal written during his time of anguish. For years, Nouwen felt his experience was too personal to share with the world, but on advice from friends, and in the hope that these insights would help nurture others, he published his journal entries. Although there are occasional gems here, most of these meditations are rather generic. Perhaps this generic quality may make Nouwen and his work more human to a public that has come to view him as a spiritual giant. (Nov.)

Library Journal

The late Nouwen, a popular spiritual author and Catholic priest, referred to these writings as his "secret journal," written during the darkest period of his life, from December 1987 to June 1988. He was sustained during this time of personal despair by the support of others and by the spiritual imperatives he wrote to himself, which he shares here. In these dialogs of the soul, Nouwen forges through the anguish of personal doubt with a deep sense of humility and truthfulness. His insights are grounded in the conviction that individual suffering can lead to profound healing when love of self, others, and God remain present throughout our struggling. Recommended for public and theology libraries.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175991162
Publisher:	Franciscan Media
Publication date:	11/17/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	497,198

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