One man's story of his journey through spiritual uncertainty to a newfound understanding of his relationship to God.
For those who have questioned their Christian faith, Robert Benson offers an account of his sojourn in a season of trouble and his journey back to God. In this spiritual self-portrait, Benson's experiences--battling depression and re-examining the deep Christian faith in which he has been immersed since childhood--become poignant testament of one believer's struggle with the mysteries of faith's road.
Depression, the ancients used to say, was about dropping into the underworld, making contact with the dead, and it was one of the essential steps in the development of wisdom. Today, the American Medical Association calls depression a disease and often prescribes drugs and hospitalization to treat it. It is refreshing, then, to discover that Benson was provoked by his own clinical depression into a spiritual journey. Benson's small bundles of wisdom comprise this charming and elegantly written little book, and readers will be so impressed by the ease with which the author writes through his depression that they may well wish to imitate his craft in exorcizing their own demons of depression. Benson has given us that rare gift, a thought-provoking record of his own spiritual quest for God through the dark night of depression. Indeed, Willa Cather's phrase, "Thy will be done in art as it is in heaven," which Benson quotes, could serve as an epigraph to this fine work. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Charming and elegantly written. . . . Willa Cather''s phrase, ''Thy will be done in art as it is in heaven'' could serve as an epigraph to this fine work." -Publishers Weekly
I come from a family of writers and publishers and other folks who spent much of their lives working with and around writers and musicians and producers and artists. One of my grandfathers was a poet and a publisher and my father was a writer and a speaker. My grandmother loved poetry and novels and used to invite me to her house to play Scrabble. Words and sentences and stories have mattered most to me for most all my life I grew up in a small bedroom community just outside Nashville, Tennessee. I left once to study English literature in California and again for a couple of years and a couple of cold winters to write advertising in Chicago, but all in all, Tennessee is home to me. While I was in Chicago I published my first book, Private Visions in Public Places, a coffee table book with someone else's photographs of the city. I got off the escalator one day in Water Tower Place and saw a bookstore window with a big display of the book. I have never recovered. In between California and Chicago, I spent almost ten years heading up the marketing team for The Benson Company in Nashville, the major religious music firm that bore the family name. There followed several years as a freelance writer and editor, and two years on the staff of Upper Room Books. I graduated from The Academy for Spiritual Formation, a two-year program of study and prayer in community with some sixty people from across the South and also became a member of The Friends of Silence & of the Poor, an international prayer community. Somewhere in there, I began to find my own voice. I had always written ' journals, bad adolescent poetry, advertising, even ghostwriting a couple of books. I even made a living at it. One day I discovered that I could no longer write for hire, because I could not get my own voice out of my head and it was time to begin to write my own stories. I write two kinds of books about one thing ' paying attention. I write about paying attention for the things that can point us to the Sacred in our lives. About the longings that we have for home and community and a sense of belonging in our lives. About practice and ritual and work and contemplation and the way that such things can be constant reminders of who we are and who we are to become. One kind of book that I writes is overtly religious. They are books that are written for readers who are interested in discussing such things in the traditional language that the Church uses ' the language of spirituality and prayer and liturgy, the language of religion. The second kind of book is less overtly religious. They are written to try and discover the holy, if you will, that is to be found in the ordinary. They are written about more general subjects, everything from baseball to gardening to travel So now there is a body of work that has been published to favorable reviews from The New York Times, USA Today, and other major newspapers, critical acclaim from the publishing community as evidenced by the reviews in Publishers' Weekly, BookPage, and other reviewers, and notable comments from other writers in the field of spirituality. All of which is pretty surprising to me. I have somehow managed to stumble into living almost exactly the kind of life to which I have been drawn since I was old enough to wonder about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I live in Nashville still where I write every day in a small studio in our back garden, see my children and their friends every time I get a chance, and take seriously the call to participate in the prayer that sanctifies the day and the work of the world. I am married to the literary agent Sara Fortenberry, for whom I am gratefully yard man, travel companion and head librarian. And I get to say yes a few times a year to opportunities to lead seminars and retreats on prayer, silence, writing, and spirituality, subjects I have led dozens of retreats on around the country in recent years.
The author recounts his deeply personal story about his descent into madness and the healing, loving God who found him there. Rarely has a spiritual book been written with such honesty told in such a lyrical style. If you like Fred Buechner's work, you'll love Between the Dreaming and the Coming True
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This review is from: Between the Dreaming and the Coming True: The Road Home to God (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a marvelous little book. Not even 150 pages, but it packs a punch. Benson's prose is magnificent. I have read the book 5 times in the last year and continue to learn from it. Each chapter follows a different theme, and Benson pulls images from his life experience to carry the chapter along. Never moralistic, the chapters are merely descriptive of Benson's life, and the way that he has found God through the rhythms of the church year, the praying of the Psalter, and other spiritual practices. The entire framework of the book is the quest to get back home to God. Because the chapters are never moralistic (i.e., Benson does not "tell us" what to do), there is much that each one can take from his work. Every time I read it I am reminded that there is a purpose in life, and that I can choose to "tap in" to that purpose. A very refreshing read, and highly recommended.
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This review is from: Between the Dreaming and the Coming True: The Road Home to God (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a great book because it communicates in the words and between the words, the heart of the Father for us. It shows that He cares for the weakest of us in a way we only dare believe.
It's a tribute to our Redeemer, spoken with authenticity and transparency.
Thanks Bob.
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