Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong [Hardcover]

John O'Donohue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1999

John O'Donohue explores that most basic of human desires - the desire to belong. It's a desire that constantly draws us toward new possibilities of self-discovery, friendship, and creativity. In Eternal Echoes John O'Donohue embarks upon a journey of discovery in the heart of our postmodern world - a hungry, lonesome world that suffers from a deep sense of isolation and fragmentation. With the thousand-year-old shelter of Divine Belonging now shattered, we seem to have lost our way in this magical, wondrous universe. Here, as we explore perennial themes and gain insight from a range of ancient beliefs, we draw inspiration from Ireland's rich spiritual heritage of Celtic thought and imagination. It is a heritage of profound, mystical wisdom that will open pathways to peace and contentment, and lead us to live with creativity, honor, and compassion the one life that has been given to us.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John O'Donohue (Anam Cara), a Celtic poet, scholar, and philosopher with an Irish brogue, speaks to the deepest calling of our soul: the longing to belong. "To be human is to belong," he explains. "Belonging is a circle that embraces everything; if we reject it, we damage our nature. The word 'belonging' holds together the two fundamental aspects of life: Being and Longing, the longing of our Being and the being of our Longing." Although this may sound like an elaborate Celtic circle knot, O'Donohue has nevertheless woven a solid and easy-to-grasp book that speaks to the soul's constant yearning. Every passage is a delight for the senses, as O'Donohue shares his lilting poetic language, his Celtic imagery and stories, and his fireside-chat wisdom. This is a broad-reaching yet highly focused book that dares to explore the realm of legitimate angels, the meaning of suffering, and, most poignantly, how life on earth may never quench the soul's thirst for belonging. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Following his popular Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, O'Donohue offers a soaring, eloquent meditation on the art of living. In most people, he maintains, an innate, deep-seated hunger for belonging and relatedness is frustrated by our high-pressured, isolating consumerist culture. Distilling guideposts of Celtic spirituality from traditional Irish legends, fairy lore, lyric poetry and Druidic nature-worship, he also tosses into the pot some Zen Buddhism, Jewish mysticism and quotes from Simone Weil, Nietzsche, Yeats, Auden, Neruda, Merleau-Ponty and Romanian philosopher E.M. Cioran. O'Donohue invites readers to make their lives a constant pilgrimage of discovery. This, he says, involves freeing oneself from the mental prisons of guilt, rigid belief and self-punishment; learning to embrace one's individuality; and coming to terms with the loss, absence or death of loved ones. Though the writing occasionally gets syrupy, this intense, concentrated inquiry towers above most self-help or New Age fare. It includes pertinent commentary not only on addiction, parenting and music but also on the lure of cults and the resurgence of political tribalism, whether in Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia or Russia. A Catholic scholar who lives by a lake in Ireland, O'Donohue has produced a treasury for readers of all faithsAa demanding, high-wire existentialist adventure that will inspire readers to re-evaluate their goals and ways of being in the world. O'Donohue ends each chapter with a lyrical blessing or prayer, and his book itself is a profound, healing prayer. Agent, Kim Witherspoon.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (February 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060182806
• ISBN-13: 978-0060182809
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Celtic

More About the Author

JOHN O'DONOHUE authored several books, including, most recently, Beauty, and the international bestsellers Anam Cara and Eternal Echoes, as well as two collections of poetry, Echoes of Memory and Conamara Blues. He lived in Ireland and frequently traveled to the United States to give lectures and conduct workshops before he passed away on January 4, 2008.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silver prose as golden spirituality., October 22, 2004

By 

Peter M. Schogol (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong (Hardcover)

I can sympathize with the reviewer who found this book to be "vague, wordy, ambiguous, contradictory, and or no practical help." If you turn to John O'Donohue for a practicum on Celtic spirituality you will be similarly confounded.

All of O'Donohue's books are image-intensive lyrics for the songs of our souls. They are not meant to be discursive or systematic, nor are they in any way beholden to canons of Anglo-Saxon verb-driven prose. Perhaps the best way to appreciate this or any of his books is to sit in your garden with a cup of strong tea, a thick slice of toasted bread with butter or marmalade, and a copy of this book, and take small mouthfuls of each allowing time between to savor and digest.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Picks Up Where "Anam Cara" Leaves Off, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong (Audio Cassette)

A month ago I moved into my first home. As I made packing arrangements I had to decide which books I wanted to leave unpacked and keep near my side as I went through the transition. I chose one book I had read "Anam Cara" and one title I had yet to read "Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong."

O'Donohue's "Anam Cara" had already brought me tremendous joy and peace, yet a bit of a wake-up call, too. It felt like a good, trusty friend who will always be there whenever the need arises. I'm nearly two-thirds through "Eternal Echoes" and "the friend" is taking me on yet another wonderful journey -- a celebration of home and all that home represents. At least, that's my interpretation. Others, I'm sure, will be touched by other qualities of the work.

O'Donohue's writing is wonderful and, in many ways, his prose reminds me of Bruce Chatwin's writing in "On the Black Hill" and some of Chatwin's travel pieces. Except O'Donohue writing is an excellent companion for the travelling soul.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Will Move You ....., January 11, 2001

By 

Cliff L. Smith (Leduc, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong (Hardcover)

Mr. O'Donohue, in his masterful book - Eternal Echoes, takes you on an exquisitely organized, vastly scenic, interpretive journey through the corridors of the human soul. His profound knowledge and sensitivities in the realm of the human condition are astounding; and the language, with which he chooses to impart these insights to the reader, is equally fantastic. With lyric like imagery, he weaves words that touch the senses like beautiful music - pure literary excellence!

"It takes a lifetime of slow work to find a rhythm of thinking which reflects and articulates the uniqueness of your soul" - John O'Donohue

Eternal Echoes will forever rattle around in the brain, helping you gain a better understanding of others and, more importantly, a better understanding of yourself! READ this book! It will move you, amaze you, and give you a new appreciation of what it means to be human!