Our Hearts Are Restless: The Art of Spiritual Memoir
Oxford University Press
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A guided tour of spiritual autobiography that grants readers new insights and appreciation of the genre
The genre of spiritual autobiography has flourished ever since Augustine essentially invented it in the fourth century. In Our Hearts Are Restless, Richard Lischer--himself the author of two spiritual memoirs--takes readers on a guided tour of the genre, examining the life writings of twenty-one figures from the expected (Thomas Merton) to the surprising (James Baldwin); from the sublime Julian of Norwich and Emily Dickinson to the outrageous Anne Lamott.
Lischer is a perceptive reader and an engaging guide in the art and craft of spiritual writing. Our Hearts Are Restless shows readers how history's most brilliant spiritual writers have sought and found a pattern of meaning in the face of tragedy, conflict, and the responsibilities of daily life.
“This is a book of wisdom that took a lifetime to write.”
— Stanley Hauerwas
“reads like a master class in spiritual memoir.”
— Barbara Mahany, The National Book Review
“eloquent and discerning … provocative”
— Publishers Weekly