Following the Path: The Search for a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Joy [Hardcover]

Joan Chittister (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 17, 2012

This book is meant to give someone in the process of making a life decision at any age—in early adulthood, at the point of middle-age change and later, when we find ourselves at the crossroads without a name—some ideas against which to pit their own minds, their own circumstances. Its purpose, as they wrestle with the process of trying to find and follow their own special call at this new stage of life, is to both provoke thinking and to clarify it. —Joan Chittister
 
In our modern and mobile society, the range of answers to the questions “What am I supposed to do with my life?” and “How do I know when I’ve found my purpose?” can seem endless and overwhelming. Following the Path by Sister Joan brings the insights of her years of teaching and contemplation to bear on this issue, providing readers with a new way forward. Through her examination of spiritual calling and gifts, change and discernment, she leads readers home to the place where, finally, we know we fit, where we are the fullest of ourselves and a gift to the world, a timely and much needed message that many will be happy to hear.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* While this could easily be called an informal guide to what it takes to be happy, that would be too simple a description for such a wise book. As the popular author and lecturer Chittister notes, most of us seldom have the economic or social freedom to find that something that fulfills us. “So how can we know what we’re meant to do with our lives?” That is the core question, and Chittister spends the bulk of the book sharing stories from those folk brave enough to change course, sometimes relatively late in their lives, while offering her own insight on the meanings of happiness and purpose. She has her own definition of happiness, of course (“Happiness,” she writes, “comes from the inside”), as well as what it means to be successful; but the essence of the book concerns itself with the fundamental concept of call, that is, of discovering where we do—and do not—fit in. Essentially, Chittister’s slim volume deals with how to lead a meaningful life at any age (whether early adulthood, middle age, or later on); “No one else can answer for us,” she observes, since finding our own way is a unique journey. Sure to be a modern classic of its genre. --June Sawyers

Review

"Joan Chittister is a legend.  In this book she reminds us that when we connect our passions to the world's pain, everybody wins.  Joan's book is a wonderful corrective to the piles of narcissistic, fluffy "find yourself" books and self-help theology which often miss the secret to fulfillment which is -- if we want to find our lives, we've got to give them away... we are made to live for something bigger than ourselves.  Joan nails it.  She invites you to cling to Jesus, dive into the world's pain, and do something daring and beautiful with your life."
 
 -Shane Claiborne, cofounder of THE SIMPLE WAY and author of COMMON PRAYER

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Image (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030795398X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307953988
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Chittister, OSB (1936- ) is a Benedictine Sister of Erie, PA. She is the author of over 45 books--twelve of which have won Catholic Press Association Awards--two in 2012: Monastery of the Heart and Happiness. Her three books released in 2012 are: Following the Path from Random House and The Art of Life and Aspects of the Heart from Twenty-Third Publications . Her book, The Monastery of the Heart: an invitation to a meaningful life, is prelude to a movement for all seekers: Monasteries of the Heart, recently begun by her Benedictine community. Sister Joan is an international speaker who inspires both her audiences and readers with her passion for justice, for equality and for peace, especially for women in both society and the church. She is a regular web columnist for the National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org) and Huffington Post (Huffingtonpost.com). Her PhD is from Penn State University in Speech-Communication Theory, her masters from the University of Notre Dame. She serves as Executive Director of Benetvision, a research and resource center for contemporary spirituality. (joanchittister.org)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars seeking meaning, purpose, passion and joy May 29, 2012

By C. Scanlon VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Reverend Sister Joan CHIttister OSB, past president of the US Benedictine Prioresses, past president of the LCWR, and well respected and sought after author of countless spiritual treatises in monastic and Roman Catholic theology, here distills her decades of contemplation and practice of the religious life in order to share this wisdom with us.

We may have read gratefully her
The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully

We may study well her careful commentary
The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century (Spiritual Legacy Series)

and several other related studies. Here we discover the cornerstone for all her years of learning.

The purpose of this book expressly seeks those who face a life decision at any time in life, with all which this entails. In a word this book aids "both to provoke thinking and to clarify it." Absent the constant and caring presence of persistent spiritual director, we find within this wise book direction to a more complete, purposeful, joyful, passionate life, as this life long and skilled spiritual director guides us with the wisdom she has gained at great cost.

Nearly all of the twenty two sections of this book thus bear titles of caring, probing, provocative questions.

Whose calling is it?
What does it mean, "to have a purpose?"
Why does it take so long to find out who I am?
The First Call: an invitation to adulthood
Is everything we'd like to do really a call?
How do I know I'm doing what I'm meant to do?
Is it ever too late to start over?
Where is God in all of this?

Sister Chittister explores with great depth and allusion to historical and literate figures each of these points and several more, greatly aiding we who search.

Personally, having the hardcover copy, I look forward as well to the audio version coming out soon, as I believe listening to Sister Joan's gentle voice guiding us with her wisdom may best help me in this desperate searching along this lost and stony path. After all, the first word of our Rule is: Listen!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Live a Life that's Worth Living... by Taking Meaningful Risks May 1, 2012

By James Andrews

Format:Hardcover

In the face of the "great danger" that looms whenever a life decision must be made, so many people will turn away and take the safe way out. But the result of this is a life that is unfulfilling, frustrating, and "barely lived." And that's what happens when we focus on the bare minimum - survival instead of abundance.

Sister Joan provides a framework for charting a life that is deeply lived and deeply invested. By recognizing with gratitude the opportunities that show themselves to us, we can live lives that are incredibly fulfilling and also make a great contribution to the world. But it means taking risks!

However, risks are by definition dangerous. So that's why they must be wisely taken. And the best wisdom is based in one's personal call in life. Sister Joan provides advice for recognizing and listening to this call. This book brings to mind wisdom-filled real-life stories such as I Walked to the Moon and Almost Everybody Waved: The Curiously Inspiring Adventures of a Free Spirit Who Changed Lives and The Seven Storey Mountain, helping the reader select the most rewarding (and sometimes demanding) path in life.

For those in the process of making major decisions - whether charting one's early course in life or changing directions later on - this book is highly recommended for the wisdom and depth it provides.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read When Struggling to Pursue One's Passion November 16, 2012

By Daniel

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm one of those artists who finds it necessary to have a steady income, insurance, and security of a full-time job. For me, the book is more of an affirmation since I know what my life's passion is. The book reminds me that without art making in my life, I'd be sacrificing more than painting... I'd be denying my gifts and the creativity that fulfills a part of me a paycheck cannot.