Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season [Paperback]

Gary Schmidt (Editor), Susan M. Felch (Editor), Mary Azarian (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

Discover how this transitional season can reveal both the abundance and the limitations of our everyday lives.

Autumn, with all its traditional images of colorful trees, frost-covered pumpkins, and piles of wood stored up against winter's cold, can be a season filled with anticipation. The harvest, the imminent onset of cold and snow, the resumption of old routines, and the beginning of the school year all require preparation and planning. If summer has been something of a pause, autumn helps us to see the passage of time more clearly.

Autumn is a season of fruition and reaping, of thanksgiving and celebration of abundance and goodness of the earth. But it is also a season that starkly and realistically encourages us to see our own limitations. Warm and stirring pieces by E. B. White, Anne Lamott, P. D. James, Julian of Norwich, May Sarton, Kimiko Hahn, and many others in this beautiful book rejoice in autumn as a time of preparation and reflection, when the results of hard labor are ripe for harvest.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

More than just a last breath of warmth and comfort before the cold of winter, autumn is a time of change and of endings, of work and of celebration, of harvest and of thanksgiving. From the first day of school to walking in fall-brightened fields to the winding of steeple clocks, Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season is the perfect companion for your own experience of the season. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Gary Schmidt teaches literature at Calvin College in Michigan and is co-editor of Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season. He is also author of Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness, a 2002 Horn Book honor list book.

Susan M. Felch teaches literature at Calvin College. She is co-editor of Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season and Bakhtin and Religion: A Feeling for Faith, as well as editor of The Collected Works of Anne Vaughan Lock.

Mary Azarian, a Vermont resident, won the Caldecott Medal for her book, Snowflake Bentley. She has illustrated numerous books for children and adults, including Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 299 pages
• Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594731187
• ISBN-13: 978-1594731181
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meditations on the season, January 1, 2011

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mmcw "mmcw" (Catonsville, MD USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season (Paperback)

Autumn is my favorite season, and this book captures many of the reasons why. I think Autumn lends itself to introspection and meditation, and this book allows the reader to do both with "guides" both old and new.