Blue Hope: A Novella [Paperback]

Robert G. Waldron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

"Death will come like a thief in the night. That's how my depressions arrive; they descend without warning and usually in the middle of the nipht when I’m lying alone in bed. The first sign is a rapid heartbeat...then the sweats, so profuse I must wear a towel draped around my neck. I go through several towels nightly."

So John Highet describes his latest bout with a crippling, lifelong depression. Even the verse of Ethan Seegard, his favorite poet, now fails to Qffer its usual solace. In a desperate attempt to lift his spirits, Highet’s friend Paula Young encourages him to write the definitive biography of Seegord, now a redusive monk at New Rievoulx Abbey. Reluctantly intrigued, Highet books a retreat at the abbey — emborking on a lourney that will not only challenge his well-trained intellect, but open his eyes to the world of the spirit. A haunting and soul-lifting novella, Blue Hope reawakens us to the transforming power of the written word and the restorative grace of beauty, silence, and, ultimately, love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In its first attempt at literary fiction, Paraclete Press offers this brief and uneven novella in which an academic's battle with depression reveals the redemptive power of God. "Death will come like a thief in the night. That's how my depressions arrive...." Thus professor John Highet begins this first-person narrative of his journey from darkness to light. Highet is convinced that the only thing that will pull him from the brink of suicide is to find the renowned poet Ethan Seegard and persuade Seegard to let him write his authorized biography. He rather implausibly rouses himself from his depression to track down Seegard at the New Rievaulx Abbey in New Hampshire, where the poet has gone into seclusion and become a priest. As Highet, an agnostic, interacts with Seegard and others at the abbey, he discovers the hope he needs to go on living and considers the possibility of faith. Waldron crafts some superb phrases and includes a beautiful two-page description of the healing relationship between prayer and depression. However, the story is marred by awkward sentences and excessive use of adjectives. Characters experience too many diverse emotions too rapidly, and Waldron often rushes to summarize scenes for the reader, rather than letting them unfold naturally on their own. There's much undeveloped potential here, and the reader feels a vague dissatisfaction over its failure to materialize. But even with the novella's imperfections, Waldron's depth of insight makes him an author to watch.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"Death will come like a thief in the night. That's how my depressions arrive," says narrator John Highet, a professor of English. His lifelong blues have reached their lowest point yet, and suicide is beginning to feel like a lover waiting with open arms. At the urging of his girlfriend, Highet pursues his ambtion to write the definitive biography of Ethan Seegard, his favorite poet and the subject of one of his previous books. Seegard vanished into the New Rievaulx Abbey over a decade ago, and, spurred by the thought of unearthing unpublished poetry, Highet books a week-long retreat at the abbey. He soon finds that his perceptions of the poet, himself, and the monastic life are wrong. While getting closer to the truth about Seegard, Highet takes tentative steps on the road back to faith in God. Waldron (Thomas Merton in Search of His Soul) writes with prose that is at once spare and breathtakingly lyrical. His interpretation of a journey to faith is a welcome addition to most collections, appealing to the more literary-minded.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Pr (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557252904
• ISBN-13: 978-1557252906
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,799,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boston Latin School Argo Review, April 8, 2002

By 

"jbg114" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Hope: A Novella (Paperback)

BLUE HOPE
By Robert Waldron
128pp novella Massachusetts:
Paraclete Press

In our modern, technological society there seems to be a search for solutions to all our mental or physical problems. Today there is nearly a pill for everything - can't sleep, take a pill; can't procreate, take a pill, and on and on the list goes. This holds true to people's battles with depression. Some cases may be solved with pills or medication, but others may not and we as a society tend to ignore other remedies, specifically spirituality.

Robert Waldron's Blue Hope takes on this issue and deals with it in fine fashion. Blue Hope is the narrative of John Highet, an English professor in his 30's who has suffered from clinical depression since a young age. As the story unfolds, Highet is nearly at the end of his rope. The two things that had been keeping him going were his soul mate Paula and the verse of Ethan Seegard, his favorite poet. Now, Seegard's verse no longer comforts him in his darkest hours. Highet has tried medication, but it only seems to deepen his depression. In a last ditch attempt to lift himself out of despair, Highet sets out to write the authoritative biography of Ethan Seegard. This is not as easy as it sounds; years before, Seegard gave up his fame to become a monk at the isolated New Rievaulx Abbey in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Under the pretense of taking a weeklong retreat at the Abbey, Highet embarks on a Monday in autumn, in pursuit of his quarry.

The novella gives the reader a look inside a Cistercian monastery of today where the rhythm of life follows the Rule of St. Benedict, established nine hundred years ago, of daily prayer and work (ora et labora). In the 12th century, the Cistercians founded a monastery in England, known as Rievaulx Abbey. Once, it was the largest monastery in England, but it's now a historic ruin maintained by English Heritage ... Cistercian monasteries were located a distance from the towns and cities of medieval Europe, but they were self-supporting by farming and other trades. As Abbot Raine says to Highet, "Here you have beauty, silence, solitude, not to mention God. What more could you ask for?"

The novella reads like a detective story. Highet describes his route to the Abbey, "Narrow, circuitous, and seemingly interminable, it was a perilous road in fog and strewn with wet leaves." Perilous in its own way, Highet's pursuit of his lost, ideal poet moves swiftly through the week. From his first encounter with Brother Jerome, the retreat master, Highet's journey is marked by twists and turns. Highet has made a bargain to stay the week at New Rievaulx, and he finds more than he bargained for. His conversations with Abbott Raine, with Peter, a young man who is taking the retreat at the crossroads of his own life and, yes, with his quarry Seegard, are at times sharp as a knife, at times subtle, at times even humorous. It's a dialogue of discovery, for Highet and for the reader.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I needed and could never find, May 22, 2004

By 

Mark Ortega (BRONX, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Hope: A Novella (Paperback)

I found this book at a spirtual book store under the Fiction section. The cover grabbed my attention and so did the first few lines. In my life Depression has had a way of coming over me suddenly and staying for a intense period of time. Like the main character I have searched and found aid in poetry and later in God. The author tells a rich and very human story filled with despair and a desperation for divine intervention. The references to Church and sacrament are familiar for all of us who have sought comfort from Church. This book is awesome as it tells the story of many of us who despair and seek the Lord often by accident. Spirtually fulfilling and a must read for anyone who has ever questioned God or themselves.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hopeful, worthwhile book, April 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Hope: A Novella (Paperback)

I found Blue Hope to be worthwhile and hopeful. It is a gem of a book, reads easily and develops well, notwithstanding the comments in the editorial reviews above. If you have read this far you should purchase the book. I just wish I could find more like it. The author is giving the reader a small gift of hope and his story successfully conveys the gift. I was moved.
PS- the book is beautifully designed and printed.