Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest [Paperback]

Daniel Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

Providence is Quinn's fascinating memoir of his life-long spiritual voyage. His journey takes him from a childhood dream in Omaha setting him on a search for fulfillment, to his time as a postulant in the Trappist order under the guidance of eminent theologian Thomas Merton.  Later, his quest took him through the deep self-discovery of psychoanalysis, through a failed marriage during the turbulent and exciting 60s, to finding fulfillment with his wife Rennie and a career as a writer. In Providence Quinn also details his rejection of organized religion and his personal rediscovery of what he says is humankind's first and only universal religion, the theology that forms the basis for Ishmael.

Providence is an insightful book that address issues of education, psychology, religion, science, marriage, and self-understanding, and will give insight to anyone who has ever struggled to forge and enact a personal spirituality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Quinn's novel Ishmael, a cult favorite, elaborated an ecologically sound mythology for our time and won a Ted Turner award for fiction that offers solutions to global problems. In this windy, slow-moving memoir, Quinn summarizes Ishmael's vision of the universe, upholding the spirit-worship practiced by animist peoples as a viable alternative to Christianity and Judaism, religions he views as largely irrelevant. He tells how, as a 19-year-old Trappist novice in Kentucky, he received encouragement from a golden-headed guardian angel but was then ordered to leave the Gethsemani monastery by Thomas Merton, his spiritual director. Then came psychoanalysis in Chicago, a marriage whose failure he blamed on his sexual inadequacies, divorce and a successful career in educational publishing. Quinn's trajectory from "fundamentalist Roman Catholic" to animist marks an unusual odyssey.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Quinn's novel Ishmael (LJ 12/91) won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for fiction, which offers solutions for global problems; the book has since garnered a large and devoted following. Providence is Quinn's spiritual autobiography, rendered as a conversation with one of his followers. He uses the events of his life to frame a discussion of religion, history, and education. Quinn relates his search for a unifying vision, beginning with a dream he had as a child and culminating with the ideas expressed in Ishmael. He describes his evolution from a novice Trappist monk under the direction of Thomas Merton to a modern animist prophet. Although Quinn writes with precision and clarity, the conversational tone weakens his exposition. Still, his point of view deserves attention. Libraries where there is interest in Ishmael will want this book.
Wendy Knickerbocker, Rhode Island Coll. Lib., Providence
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553375490
• ISBN-13: 978-0553375497
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Level, May 10, 2003

By 

H. Gale "snowwish" (Tarpon Springs, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest (Paperback)

_Providence_ takes _Ishmael_ to a whole new level by explaining what you can do with yourself after _Ishmael_. Quinn explains that the reason for this work is to fill the void that _Ishmael_ leaves: if it shattered your beliefs (in a good way, of course), _Providence_ gives you something to take its place.

After reading Quinn's first four books, this was welcome, because for me, it fills the void that _Beyond Civilization_ tries to work into, but somehow fails. Many people complain that Quinn never tells you what to do wth these new ideas in his books, and here, he gives the reader ways that he has made them work. I found it very easy to take them and mesh them with my own interests. To find out Quinn's entire argument for saving ourselves and our planet, it's really necessary to read his five major books - if you read this one last, it brings the whole argument together nicely. He just doesn't give you an easy way out. You have to find it for yourself.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this to understand the man who wrote Ishmael., January 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest (Paperback)

For those of you who were also stunned and fascinated by Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, this book is required reading. It tells the marvelous story of how Quinn came to be the man who could write Ishmael. Part mystery, part comedy, Providence keeps you wondering how the story of Quinn's life will end (not completely, of course, just up to the writing of Ishmael). Written in an easy conversational style, Providence is the essential sequel to Ishmael, because it provides an extension and context for the ideas introduced in Ishmael. Read Ishmael first, and then you will read this book over and over again

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Brought Me to Tears!, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest (Paperback)

I actually read this book last in the Quinn series. Most people read them in order, starting with Ishmael, then Providence, The Story of B, My Ishmael, Beyond Civilization etc... I skipped Providence because I didn't have the kinds of questions Quinn wrote providence to answer. However, after reading his lastest novel "The Holy" I did have questions. I felt I wanted to know more about the man and his vison and I got this and much more from "Providence". This isn't fiction and Quinn pulls no punches here. An Incredibly moving testament to the animist worldview.