Acedia and Me : A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life Hardcover - 2008
by Kathleen Norris
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
Kathleen Norris's masterpiecemoving memoir that resurrects the ancientterm acedia, or soul-weariness, and brilliantlyexplores its relevancy to the modern individualand culture.
Kathleen Norris had written several much loved books,yet she couldn't drag herself out of bed in the morning,couldn't summon the energy for daily tasks. Evenas she struggled, Norris recognized her familiar battlewith acedia. She had discovered the word in an earlyChurch text when she was in her thirties. Havingendured times of deep soul-weariness since she wasa teenager, she immediately recognized that thispassage described her affliction: sinking into a stateof being unable to care. Fascinated by this 'noondaydemon,' so familiar to those in the early and medievalChurch, Norris read intensively and knew she must restorethis forgotten but utterly relevant and importantconcept to the modern world's vernacular.
Like Norris's bestselling The Cloister Walk, Acedia& me is part memoir and part meditation. As in herbestselling Amazing Grace, here Norris explicatesand demystifies a spiritual concept, exploring acediathrough the geography of her life as a writer; her marriageand the challenges of commitment in the midstof grave illness; and her keen interest in the monastictradition. Unlike her earlier books, this one featuresa poignant narrative throughout of Norris's and herhusband's bouts with acedia and its clinical cousin,depression. Moreover, her analysis of acedia revealsits burden not just on individuals but on whole societies and that the 'restless boredom, frantic escapism,commitment phobia, and enervating despair that westruggle with today are the ancient demon of acediain modern dress.'
An examination of acedia in the light of theology,psychology, monastic spirituality, the healing powersof religious practice, and Norris's own experience,Acedia & me is both intimate and historically sweeping,brimming with exasperation and reverence, sometimesfunny, often provocative, and always important.
Description
Details
- Title Acedia and Me : A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
- Author Kathleen Norris
- Binding Hardcover
- Edition 1st/1st
- Condition Used - Very Good
- Pages 334
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Penguin Publishing Group, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Date 2008
- Bookseller's Inventory # G1594489963I4N01
- ISBN 9781594489969 / 1594489963
- Weight 1.26 lbs (0.57 kg)
- Dimensions 9 x 6.36 x 1.16 in (22.86 x 16.15 x 2.95 cm)
- Ages 18 to UP years
- Grade levels 13 - UP
- Library of Congress subjects Monastic and religious life, Acedia
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 2008010150
- Dewey Decimal Code B
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Summary
View our feature on Kathleen Norris’s Acedia & Me.
Kathleen Norris’s masterpiece: a personal and moving memoir that resurrects the ancient term acedia, or soul-weariness, and brilliantly explores its relevancy to the modern individual and culture.Kathleen Norris had written several much loved books, yet she couldn’t drag herself out of bed in the morning, couldn’t summon the energy for daily tasks. Even as she struggled, Norris recognized her familiar battle with acedia. She had discovered the word in an early Church text when she was in her thirties. Having endured times of deep soul-weariness since she was a teenager, she immediately recognized that this passage described her affliction: sinking into a state of being unable to care. Fascinated by this “noonday demon,” so familiar to those in the early and medieval Church, Norris read intensively and knew she must restore this forgotten but utterly relevant and important concept to the modern world’s vernacular.
Like Norris’s bestselling The Cloister Walk, Acedia & me is part memoir and part meditation. As in her bestselling Amazing Grace, here Norris explicates and demystifies a spiritual concept, exploring acedia through the geography of her life as a writer; her marriage and the challenges of commitment in the midst of grave illness; and her keen interest in the monastic tradition. Unlike her earlier books, this one features a poignant narrative throughout of Norris’s and her husband’s bouts with acedia and its clinical cousin, depression. Moreover, her analysis of acedia reveals its burden not just on individuals but on whole societies— and that the “restless boredom, frantic escapism, commitment phobia, and enervating despair that we struggle with today are the ancient demon of acedia in modern dress.”
An examination of acedia in the light of theology, psychology, monastic spirituality, the healing powers of religious practice, and Norris’s own experience, Acedia & me is both intimate and historically sweeping, brimming with exasperation and reverence, sometimes funny, often provocative, and always important.
