- ISBN13: 9780787947354
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.Amazon.com Review
The old Quaker a… More >>
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
#1 by grace tilton on March 17, 2010 - 9:24 pm
my god, what an obnoxious, over-wrought, self-important heap of nonsense. this man thinks far too highly of his life story, which is low on anything truely trying and high on sentimentality. i quote:
“i love the fact that the word humus, the dacayed vegatable matter that feeds the roots of plants, comes from the same root that gives rise to the word humility. it is a blessed etymology. it helps me understand that the humiliating events of life, the events that leave ‘mud on my face’ or that ‘makes my name mud’ may create the fertile soil in which something new can grow.”
well, good for you, pal. the oft-used metaphores and life stories that are not incoherent are utterly laughable in a droll, sugary way that does not lend itself to serious reading. some people may be capable of enjoying such writing and finding it truly inspiring. i am not one of those folks, and do not reccomend this book. to anyone.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Anonymous on March 17, 2010 - 9:46 pm
This book is little more than a (mercifully) short autobiography of an arrogant and misguided know-it-all. Think of the most self-centered and obnoxious person you know, and then ask yourself if you’d want to read a book they’d written about their own life. To me the book was hard to read because I found the author’s personality so annoying. Even when he admits to making mistakes, he strongly hints that it was because he was more intelligent or more ethical than everyone else around him.
Also, throughout the book, he kept blowing the trumpet and waving the banner of his Liberal politics. He apologized a few times for being born a white male, but then he used it as an excuse because, he says, our society teaches all white males that they can do anything they want to do in life. And he feels the pain of all who are not white males because, he says time and again, that our society is, apparently without exception, sexist, racist and homophobic. In one overwrought metaphor, he advises that we should all strive to be like Rosa Parks and sit down on the bus of life and name and claim what is ours. Huh?
Palmer has, for now, concluded that his vocation is to be a writer. Based on this book, I can’t agree. Therefore, I cannot recommend a book on vocation written by someone who has apparently chosen the wrong vocation.
If you’re looking for a book that is truly full of wisdom, get Thomas Merton’s, No Man Is An Island. The entire book sings, and it contains an excellent chapter on vocation.
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by Anonymous on March 17, 2010 - 10:09 pm
This book is for people who are searching for affirmation that life gives you ups AND downs, that this is okay, and that there may be a reason for why your life is leading the direction that it is. A book that brings a lot of mind churning to the person reading, trying to see just where do “I fit in/how does this help me.”
Rating: 3 / 5
#4 by Stephen K. Taylor on March 17, 2010 - 11:12 pm
I read the first 80 pages of this book carefully, but just looked at the subjects afterwards. I don’t think the book helped me because I matured as I quit focusing on myself. This book suggessts the opposite.
Palmer writes very well about this journey, but I didn’t learn what most of us need- to be lees self-preoccupied.
Sorry, I would not recommend the book, though I know many would be impressed by it.
Rating: 1 / 5
#5 by Anonymous on March 17, 2010 - 11:18 pm
I found this book to be an interesting read into one man’s journey toward self-discovery. He has some good insights into how one might take a different view of the world and find one’s true vocation.
From my perspective, it was a bit too self-absorbed and self-engrandizing. I would recommend this book to anyone that is depressed about his or her life and needs to find a potential source of comfort. If you have a fairly good sense of self, this book may not be of great benefit.
Rating: 2 / 5