That's how the light gets in: A credo of friendship [Paperback]

Donald B Harris (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Credo Institute (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964369109
• ISBN-13: 978-0964369108
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,741,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Harris has been writing popular reflections on Spain since 1997. He fell in love with the Spanish culture over forty years ago, when he stepped ashore in Spain as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. For a time, he and his wife Ruth raised their young family among the sherry bodegas of El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz). As they enjoyed life with their sons in a Spanish neighborhood, they grew to appreciate the intimate dimension of Spanish life, where children are cherished and family ties are central.

After retiring from the Chaplain Corps as a captain, Don founded LaTienda.com with his wife and their three sons. They all visit Spain regularly. The company is now one of the finest providers of Spanish food in the U.S., supporting artisanal and small family firms. In 2009, Don received the Admiral Pedro Menéndez Friend of Spain Award from the Society of Spain for his outstanding leadership and dedication on behalf of Spain and Spanish culture.

Don was also the founder of what is now the worldwide Navy CREDO retreat program; the Credo/Esperanza community; and director of the Credo Institute. His 1994 book, That's How the Light Gets In, is an absorbing exploration of the early days of Credo and its evolution through both time and place.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worldwide movement of spiritual friendship within USN, USMC, March 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: That's how the light gets in: A credo of friendship (Paperback)

From the book jacket of That's How the Light Gets In: A quiet movement of spirituality and friendship has taken root in an unexpected place -- among the sailors and Marines and their families around the world. Its name is Credo. Every week, from Naples to Okinawa people of all ages attend Credo retreats to bring focus to their lives in an atmosphere of safety and mutual concern. Credo complements self-help regimens, Twelve Step groups, religious retreats, and psychotherapy, in fostering spiritual rebirth. In recent years Credo has spread to people of all walks of life, including students, people in recovery, homeless, and other seekers. For many, the experience of Credo friendship has been the turning point of their lives. In this book, founder Donald B. Harris recounts Credo's genesis. He describes his chaotic childhood and the loneliness it bred and tells how his exposure to an accepting family, an accidental community, a generous Spanish nobleman, and the writings of a spiritual leader laid the foundation for Credo. The book reveals how Credo uses contemporary music to help even the inarticulate express their inner yearning. The book is a spiritual autobiography of the author's journey to recovery. His involvement with patients flown in from the battlefront of Vietnam as well as refugees from the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s prepared the soil in which Credo has taken root. That's How the Light Gets In is also an absorbing exploration of the early days of Credo and its evolution in San Diego, Spain, Colorado, and finally Williamsburg. It includes a definition of the underlying philosophy of Credo and a detailed description of the retreat itself, and concludes with a reflection on the course of current American society that makes the Credo response appropriate.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about a great program, April 11, 2011

By 

James R. Finley "Jim Finley" (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: That's how the light gets in: A credo of friendship (Paperback)

This is a fascinating history of a great program. I participated extensively in the CREDO retreat program during the latter half of my 20 years in the Marine Corps, and it isn't an exaggeration to say I saw it change a lot of lives and probably save a few. I know I talked to two people who said that they'd planned to kill themselves after they got back from their retreats if they still felt the way they did when they started, but they changed their minds; others came back ready to share experiences with their spouses that they'd been afraid or unable to, and which had threatened their marriages.
It started me on a road of change via both therapy and recovery programs. I wanted to give back what I'd gotten, so I volunteered, went through the training and started going on retreats as a helper 'team member'; that experience, in turn, helped me make the decision to go to grad school and become a therapist myself as a second career after I retired from the military.
There are 11 CREDO centers active as of now (April 2011) according to their website; the retreats are open to anyone with a military ID - active, reserve, retired, or family members - and with the state of the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I think they're probably more needed now than they've ever been before.
I hadn't known so much about the program's creation and early history until I read this book. Having read it, I have an even greater appreciation for the program and the chaplain that started it.