Public Lives Private Prayers [Paperback]

Mary Reath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

You may do a double take the next time you notice actor Matthew McConaughey on a magazine cover. Sure, you recognize him as the star of U-571 and EDtv. After reading Public Lives, Private Prayers a compilation of prayers, blessings and poems edited by Mary Reath, you’ll also know the Zen prayer that inspires him to add "a little rock ’n roll" to his life. That same passage reflects Senator Bill Bradley’s ideas about "the union of work and play." In Public Lives, Private Prayers, actors, authors, world leaders and other well-known public figures share pearls of wisdom, lend earnest advice, and provide instruments to enliven one’s religious and spiritual life.

Many people as diverse as McConaughey and Bradley find similar spiritual common ground in Public Lives, Private Prayers. Actress Julie Harris and Richard F. Grein, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New York, seek solace in St. Teresa of Avila’s Prayer; Dow Jones & Co. chairman Peter Kann and Oregon Governor John A. Kitzhaber both find inspiration in the Rudyard Kipling poem "If."

Much more than a recitation of spiritual buzz words, Public Lives, Private Prayers, expresses the deepest feelings of people many of us know only from sound bites on the evening news or saccharine interviews on "Entertainment Tonight." Author Danielle Steel wrote, "Although I don’t normally contribute to books and collections about or by allegedly famous people, this subject matter did catch my interest. There are indeed a few ‘standbys’ I hang onto in hard times" (Isaiah 41:1, Isaiah 41:13).

Organized into six chapters, Public Lives, Private Prayers celebrates the themes of Living, Loving, Working, Doubting, Dying and Adoring. Contributions include texts from Goethe and Emily Dickinson to the Bible and Shakesphere to Hillel the Elder and the prophet Mohammed.

More than 130 people -- including Anna Quindlen, Queen Noor, Sister Helen Prejean, Pete Seeger, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Pinsky, Brigitte Bardot, Ann Landers and George and Barbara Bush -- contributed to Reath’s collection of prayers and poems, offering a rare glimpse inside the private, spiritual lives of people we thought we knew. Public Lives, Private Prayers not only illuminates those lives, but ours as well.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1987, Mary Reath has been the publisher and vice president of Collectors Reprints, Inc. a company that reproduces American classics. Recent projects include The First Edition Library, a 64-volume series of first-edition reprints of American fiction, and The Library of American Poets, a series of the first editions of American poetry.

A former elementary school teacher, Reath is the author of God of the Starlight, an anthology of prayers of many faiths for children. She also served as a visiting scholar at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Her latest book, Public Lives, Private Prayers, grew out of an interest in the prayers of well-known people and how their spiritual reflections influence their life and work. "That association," Reath says, "allows one to enter into prayer in a way one wouldn't be able to do if you read the prayer cold. Knowing Desmond Tutu's history, for example, you can relate more intensely to the words he prays."

Reath and her husband, Henry, currently live in Princeton, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 127 pages
• Publisher: Sorin Books (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893732266
• ISBN-13: 978-1893732261
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,793,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to keep close at hand, July 8, 2001

By 

Patricia L. Hartnett (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Public Lives Private Prayers (Paperback)

"Public Lives, Private Prayers" works wonderfully on a number of levels. First, we are fascinated by the glimpses into the inner lives of these celebrities, people we feel we know so well at some level. It's amazing how differently you will see each person after you know his or her favorite prayer. Secondly, the totality of the book is a powerful statement on the central importance of the spiritual aspects of life. Not a trendy thought, but true nonetheless. And individually, many of the prayers are touching and wonderful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect book to share with family and friends., May 6, 2001

By 

"showard106" (Atherton, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Public Lives Private Prayers (Paperback)

I have absolutely loved reading and rereading Reath's book. This is not a typical prayer book. Instead it is a book of inspiration that the reader can identify with. Those who shared prayers or thoughts are so varied in their public lives and that adds to the tenderness of the book. This is a book to cherish and share with others.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for These Times, September 17, 2001

By 

Holly Ketron (US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Public Lives Private Prayers (Paperback)

I returned to this beautiful book of prayers during the days following the terrible attack on our country. I was able to feel close to the public people in Ms. Reath's book, to find in their prayers inspiration for my own prayer. Since many of the contributions are especially useful for times of distress and pain, this anthology was truly a Godsend. Of course this is not the only time many of us will want be pressed, will suffer, will feel alone, will need to come close to our God. This book, by presenting the prayers of others, of people many of whom bear large responsibilities, helps confirm that we are all in a community. A wonderful book to have, to pass on to others, to keep close by.