The Genesee Diary [Paperback]

Henri Nouwen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 20, 1981

During his seven-month stay in a Trappist monastery, Henri Nouwen had a unique opportunity to explore crucial issues of the spiritual life and discover "a quiet stream underneath the fluctuating affirmations and rejections of my little world." Nouwen participated fully in the daily life of the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York -- in work and in prayer. From the early weeks in the abbey -- dominated by conflicting desires and concerns -- to the final days of Advent, when he finds a new sense of calm expectation, Nouwen never loses his critical honesty. Insightful, compassionate, often humorous, always realistic, The Genesee Diary is both an inspiration and a challenge to those who are in search of themselves.

"The Genesee Diary beautifully lifts the heart and mind to God."
--Christianity Today

"This is an extraordinary account of a man seeking inner peace and total commitment to God... a fine portrait of cloistered life, a beautifully written account of one man's soul-searching."
--Publisher's Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Genesee Diary: Report from a Trappist Monastery is Henri Nouwen's journal of his seven-month stay in the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York. His reflections on daily life with the Trappists are funny, wise, and often profound--resembling Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk, but a bit less thematically structured and more down to earth. Nouwen's goal is simply to record what it's like to pass the time in a cloistered community. He spends part of his stay there reading Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which helps awaken a hunger for a richer experience of life that he subsequently satisfies by learning to slow down. In his first week at the monastery, Nouwen writes, "I have so many ideas I want to write about, so many books I want to read, so many skills I want to learn--motorcycle maintenance is now one of them--and so many things I want to say to others now or later, that I do not SEE that God is all around me and that I am always trying to see what is ahead, overlooking him who is so close." Then, looking forward to being planted in one place among the Trappists, he writes, "Maybe I need to get stuck," to learn to see God. He does, and he does. --Michael Joseph Gross

From the Publisher

Recorded during a seven-month stay in a Trappist monastery in Genesee, New York, Henri Nouwen's record of his spiritual journey is an insightful and compassionate inspiration to all who seek to know themselves better.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Image (February 20, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385174462
• ISBN-13: 978-0385174466
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,161 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 .

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#67 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#67 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nouwen at his best... January 18, 2001

By A. Hogan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The Late Henri Nouwen ,of blessed memory, was a Dutch Catholic priest who was able to put his spiritual longings[and lackings] into print and a level that I do not think has been matched in the past century.Certainly, Thomas Merton was a better writer and more influential, though Nouwen gave us his doubt at an unprecendented depth. In this duiary, first published in the mid-70's , he went to Piffard , NY to live with the Trappists of the Genesse for 8 months[he later went back, and produced another book of meditations]It was fortuitous that he met the abbot, Fr John Eudes Bamberger, and found a man to whom he could pour himself out. The abbot [he is still abbot,by the way,and has his own website}is an MD, psychaitrist and a man of deep prayer. Much of the book is the the conferences of Nouwen and the Abbot, though a greter portion is Nouwens musings on life, his frustrations, his enthusiamims[wich were many and childlike in thier intensity] and his prayer.His descriptions of back breaking manuel labor,of sorting raisins{the monks produce a regionally famous bread, called,of course, monks bread]and of normal, everyday fears and phobias are wonderful, insightful and inspiring. The Late Fr. Nouwen wrote scores of books, though thisis in my estimation his finest.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Left-brain companion to Norris' "Cloister Walk" May 13, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

A highly stimulating account of Nouwen's experiences as a "temporary Trappist" (itself a contradiction in terms which he explores with sensitivity). Nouwen is brutally honest in his self-analysis without becoming maudlin or pompous, and his struggle to learn to pray in the midst of distractions from within and without should resonate with people (like me!) who find themselves too often consumed with busyness and the monologues of an undisciplined consciousness. Best of all, Nouwen acknowledges that his time with the Trappists does not solve his problems; rather, it teaches him the rudiments of praise in the midst of problems.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind the walls December 31, 2000

By Lyrical-Linocut

Format:Paperback

Nouwen takes us behind the walls of a Trappist Monastery, a place one rarely gets to travel. We not only get a glimpse into monastic living, but we are invited to travel deeper into the heart of Henri Nouwen. Nouwen shows us his humanity and struggles. He brings forth the wisdom of community and the comfort of ritual. This book, for me, became my own retreat. The monastery is not a place of escapism, but rather a place that confronts you at the depths of your soul.