Finding My Way Home [Paperback]

H. Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

This is a collection of four short essays that looks at four different aspects of our spiritual life.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nouwen's unexpected death in 1996 ended the prolific writing career of the Dutch Catholic priest who bridged denominational chasms between Christians everywhere. Since then, the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre in Canada has seen that two of Nouwen's unfinished books have been published and has continued to plumb his collection of unpublished papers, manuscripts, letters, tapes and videos for other possibilities. This brief collection is part of that effort. It comprises three previously published Nouwen essays, "The Path of Power," "The Path of Peace" and "The Path of Waiting," and adds a fourth, "The Path of Living and Dying." Based on a talk Nouwen gave at the National Catholic HIV/AIDS Conference in Chicago and an interview with Crosspoint magazine, this last essay is of particular interest as it opens a window to Nouwen's own preparation for his passage into the life he believed awaited him after death. Although Sue Mosteller, literary executrix of the Nouwen Literary Centre, molded Nouwen's thoughts into this essay, her choice and arrangement of words are true to the man's spirit in their frankness and ability to distill a subject's essence. Those familiar with Nouwen's writings will doubtless agree that he could easily have written passages like this: "Death in itself is not wonderful. It is terrible. But how we see our death and the death of others we know and love can be transforming. It takes time. But it is possible."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

By the time of his death in 1996, Nouwen had garnered a large, faithful audience for his unique mixture of Christian inspiration, contemplative exploration, and theology. The four essays gathered here reflect a man going home. He writes poignantly of the powerlessness inherent to the human condition and the poverty that we all share. He argues that the peace and love gained from acknowledging one's fragility are the keys to the sort of richness that makes life meaningful. "The Path of Peace," in which he introduces Adam, a physically and intellectually disabled man from whom we learn the peace that comes from being rather than doing, makes this case especially powerfully. Three of the essays were previously published as pamphlets; the previously unpublished one, on life and death, proves especially poignant. Nouwen encourages us and himself to live a life and die a death that will help others, just as Jesus did. Nouwen himself, in life and in death, gave to us. Let that be his eulogy. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Darton Longman and Todd (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0232524351
• ISBN-13: 978-0232524352
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,571,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henri Nouwen was born in Holland in 1932 and ordained a Catholic priest in 1957. He obtained his doctorandus in psychology from Nijmegen University in the Netherlands and taught at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. He experienced the monastic life with Trappist monks at the Abbey of the Genesee, lived among the poor in Latin America with the Maryknoll missioners, and was interested and active in numerous causes related to social justice. After a lifetime of seeking, Henri Nouwen finally found his home in Canada, as pastor of L'Arche Daybreak - where people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers live together in community.

Henri Nouwen wrote over 40 books on spirituality and the spiritual life that have sold millions of copies and been translated into dozens of languages. His vision of spirituality was broad and inclusive, and his compassion embraced all of humankind.

He died in 1996. His work and his spirit live on.

Henri Nouwen pronounced his name "Henry Now-en." For more information on his life and work, please visit www.henrinouwen.org .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful meditations, March 26, 2005

By 

J. Miller (LA, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit (Hardcover)

In you really want a feel for Nouwen's thoughts, "The Way of the Heart" is a better read. But if you want to know Nouwen's personality, "Finding My Way Home" does the job. These are four meditations on the facts of life from a spiritual leader, Harvard and Yale prof, and follower of Jesus. The only real tie that binds the essays is the heart of the writer, as these were collected and published five years after his death in 1996.

They are titled The Paths of Power, Peace, Waiting, and Living and Dying. By far, the most interesting and insightful is The Path to Peace, a largely autobiographical reflection on the ten years Nouwen spent working with the mentally disabled. He describes how his friend Adam, who was entirely dependent and who could not communicate, brought peace to the home in which they worked by uniting them in a service for which none of them could take real credit. This is a stark contrast to the Path of Power, through which people try to assert themselves in the world (unlike Jesus). The reflection on waiting is a quiet thought on solitude, and the last essay on death reflects on how to give one's death as a gift to those left behind.

Don't know that Nouwen himself had plans to publish these thoughts, as they seem to be breakfast table musings rather than polished essays. I would recommend Nouwen's other works before this one, and save this one for the devotees.

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding My Way Home, March 3, 2010

By 

Stuart P. Ray (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit (Paperback)

Life is a constant journey to find ourselves and God's purpose. We live in a culture that measures the value of someone on degrees of success. Nouwen forces us to look from a God centered perspective.

5.0 out of 5 stars Anything Henri Nouwen, August 18, 2008

By 

lostinlove (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit (Paperback)

All of Mr Nouwen's books have left a very impressionable footprint on my spiritual path; he is quite profound.