The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days [Paperback]

Frederick Buechner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 1991

This memoir reflects on key moments of the author's early life, from childhood to his entering seminary, that reveal how God speaks to us in a variety of ways every moment of every day.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"A child takes life as it comes because he has no other way of taking it," Frederick Buechner writes in this first of his autobiographical books. With this statement he attempts to explore the event that is at the center of this book, and which forms the (missing) center around which so much of Buechner's fiction and essays take shape: the suicide of his father when he was 10 and his brother 8.

As with much of Buechner's work, there is a movement in this narrative from suffering to grace, a grace that comes in unexpected ways and places. Here it comes through the preacher George Buttrick on a Sunday sermon: Jesus refused Satan's crown, Buttrick said, but "he is crowned in the heart of the people who believe in him. And that inward coronation takes place ... 'among confession, and tears, and great laughter.'" It was when he heard this final statement, Buechner writes, that something turned over for him, and led him to speak to Buttrick and ultimately led him--driven literally by Buttrick--to Union Theological Seminary. Here in this beautiful book this soul-changing journey across Manhattan stands for "the sacred journey" of a life--and of all of our lives. Whether it ends in truth or dream we cannot know, but Buechner sides with King Rinkitink of Oz who says, "Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders." --Doug Thorpe

From the Publisher

This memoir reflects on key moments of the author's early life, from childhood to his entering seminary, that reveal how God speaks to us in a variety of ways every moment of every day.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 11, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060611839
• ISBN-13: 978-0060611835
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frederick Buechner is the popular author of such nonfiction titles as Telling the Truth, Wishful Thinking, and Peculiar Treasures. The New York Times Book Review described his recently published memoir, The Sacred Journey, as a "beautifully successful experiment." In addition to The Final Beast, which was originally published in 1965, Mr. Buechner is the author of ten other novels, including the bestselling A Long Day's Dying and, most recently, Godric. He makes his home in Rupert, Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stirring, life-changing read!, September 5, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Olympia, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days (Paperback)

I first read this book 5 years ago, following a divorce. Since then, I have reread it nearly every year, along with "Now and Then" and "Telling Secrets". Mr. Buechner very eloquently and unashamedly addresses the issue of his life's tradgedies, and how God reached into his life through these events. But even more importantly, he tells of how his story is our story. "...the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the Holy power that life itself comes from..." (From the book)

In his wide-open honesty, Mr. Buechner lets the reader know that we are really all the same: we all have the joys and pains of life, and we all have the same access to the Holy Power that life ultimately comes from.

I have been deeply touched by this book.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful language, beautiful message, July 25, 2000

By 

Matthew T. Phillips (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days (Paperback)

Rev. Buechner has an amazing gift for crafting language to portray exactly what he feels and needs to say. He writes this autobiographical and spiritual book, he says, with the hope that the reader will see the threads of his or her story weaving in and out of his own.

Buechner's work is popular, and this book is the perfect introduction, explaining the major events of his childhood, which shape his life, minsitry, and writing. Sacred Journey is certainly not a self-help book, but you will be encouraged toward reflection on your life past and present, and if you let him, Buechner will shape your life.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars once below a time..., March 27, 2002

By 

NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days (Paperback)

The mystery of our lives. The oddity of memory. The things that make us who we are. Frederick Buechner explores all of these topics in the first volume of his autobiographies, "The Sacred Journey."

Slowly--word by word and line by line, Buechner has won my respect as an author. How he unravels the story of his own life, how he makes the past breathe, gives it life...it has all combined to deepen my esteem for him. He is one of the greatest living authors.

Buechner's honest search for something universal in his story has captivated me. We all stand, in one way or another, in the shadows of our own lives. Alone, we cannot even comprehend the whole of our own journeys. The value of Buechner's excavation of his past is that when others view it, it may help them see the importance of their own journey.

In spite of the author's uncertainness about writing them, I have found Buechner's autobiographies to be of great value. I am thankful for the man's openness, courage and skill (they are fun to read).

I give "The Sacred Journey" my wholehearted recommendation.