The Inner Voice of Love [Hardcover]

Henri Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

This is Henri Nouwen's "secret journal." It was  written during the most difficult period of his life, when he suddenly lost his self-esteem,  his energy to live and work, his sense of being loved, even his hope in God. Although he experienced excruciating anguish and despair, he was still able to keep a journal in which he wrote a spiritual imperative to himself each day that emerged from his conversations with friends and supporters.



For more than eight years, Henri Nouwen felt that what he wrote was too raw and private to share with others. Instead, he published The Return of the Prodigal Son, in which he expressed some of the insights gained during his mental and spiritual crisis. But then friends asked him, "Why keep your anguish hidden from the many people who have been nurtured by your writing? Wouldn't it be of consolation for many to know about the fierce inner battle that lies underneath so many of your spiritual insights?"

For the countless men and women who have to live through the pain of broken relationships, or who suffer from the loss of a loved one, this book about the inner voice of love offers new courage, new hope, even new life.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom is a collection of passages from Henri Nouwen's journals, written during a period when his self-esteem evaporated, his energy to work disappeared, and God seemed entirely unreal. This is not a book to be read straight through: each short chapter takes time to digest, because, like the following passage, each of Nouwen's thoughts has the raw complexity of real honesty:

Your body needs to be held and to hold, to be touched and to touch. None of these needs is to be despised, denied, or repressed. But you have to keep searching for your body's deeper need, the need for genuine love. Every time you are able to go beyond the body's superficial desires for love, you are bringing your body home and moving toward integration and unity.

--Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Nouwen, Catholic priest and popular author (The Wounded Healer, 1972), hit a six-month spiritual and mental crisis at the end of 1987 during which he "wondered whether I would be able to hold on to my life. Everything came crashing down?my self-esteem, my energy to live and work, my sense of being loved, my hope for healing, my trust in God... everything." This book is his personal journal written during his time of anguish. For years, Nouwen felt his experience was too personal to share with the world, but on advice from friends, and in the hope that these insights would help nurture others, he published his journal entries. Although there are occasional gems here, most of these meditations are rather generic. Perhaps this generic quality may make Nouwen and his work more human to a public that has come to view him as a spiritual giant.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385485891
• ISBN-13: 978-0385485890
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,746 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

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a reference book to be used many times over., September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom (Paperback)

This book is an honest journey of the human experience and enables one to understand the meaning of life. It is very useful to all adults whether one is dealing with first hand depression or someone close to you is. He is able to reach the inner most sensitive parts of every human being and give comfort where there is pain. This is a book that needs to be kept out so one can read it at anytime, any chapter. It shows how going through very painful periods in this physical world lead to peace and valuable information that needs to be shared. It looks at life through very healthy eyes with God as our director. I don't think anyone could possibly read this book and not feel hopeful afterwards.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep this one close, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom (Paperback)

You do not have to be Catholic to learn from and appreciate what Henri Nouwen has to say. He will touch your soul. Demonimational differences are moot. You do not have to be suffering from personal anguish to relate to Nouwen's words. His hunger for relationship with others and God are part of the common human experience. This book is a gift of "words". Words we have, at one time or another, tried so inadequately to find to explain our hunger to ourselves. Read it piece by precious piece and keep going back to it. It will keep you in touch with your own humaness, sensitive to the humaness of others, it will sand away the callouses of life and help you to focus on what is really of value.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His journey is our journey..., March 24, 1999

By 

David H. Johnson "human being" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Inner Voice of Love (Hardcover)

Once again, Henri Nouwen brings us closer to his own heart and to the heart of God. His journey, a journey of anguish, leads ultimately to freedom. As he wrestles with the God who formed him, with the inner struggles that shape him, with the world that confines him, he struggles to fuller understanding of self, and in the process, a fuller understanding of God. For this reader, I am fortunate to have spiritual guides like Nouwen who have led me through the valley to the bright morning of renewed strength, of victory over the darkness of the closet, and of freedom in the spirit of Christ. When I read the chapter on 'Bringing your Body Home to God,' I had the most intense spiritual experience of my life, as I brought what I had seen, up to that time, as my imperfect body, the body of a gay man, home to God and had him receive me "Just as I Am," His child, created to enjoy His world and His gifts.

There is no question that one of those gifts is Henri Nouwen. I encourage any reader who is suffering the anguish of darkness in his or her spirit -- pick up this little book and let your journey move forward to resolution. Freedom has a price, but the joy far outweighs the costs!