Presbyterian : The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days

The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days

EUR 5,05


A child takes life as it comes because he has no other way of taking it, Frederick Buechner writes in this first of his autobiographical books. With this statement he attempts to explore the event that is at the center of this book, and which forms the (missing) center around which so much of Buechner s fiction and essays take shape: the suicide of his father when he was 10 and his brother 8. As with much of Buechner s work, there is a movement in this narrative from suffering to grace, a grace that comes in unexpected ways and places. Here it comes through the preacher George Buttrick on a Sunday sermon: Jesus refused Satan s crown, Buttrick said, but he is crowned in the heart of the people who believe in him. And that inward coronation takes place ... among confession, and tears, and great laughter. It was when he heard this final statement, Buechner writes, that something turned over for him, and led him to speak to Buttrick and ultimately led him--driven literally by Buttrick--to Union Theological Seminary. Here in this beautiful book this soul-changing journey across Manhattan stands for the sacred journey of a life--and of all of our lives. Whether it ends in truth or dream we cannot know, but Buechner sides with King Rinkitink of Oz who says, Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders. --Doug Thorpe

Beautiful language, beautiful message - Rev. Buechner has an amazing gift for crafting language to portray exactly what he feels and needs to say. He writes this autobiographical and spiritual book, he says, with the hope that the reader will see the threads of his or her story weaving in and out of his own.Buechner s work is popular, and this book is the perfect introduction, explaining the major events of his childhood, which shape his life, minsitry, and writing. Sacred Journey is certainly not a self-help book, but you will be encouraged toward reflection on your life past and present, and if you let him, Buechner will shape your life.

A stirring, life-changing read! - I first read this book 5 years ago, following a divorce. Since then, I have reread it nearly every year, along with Now and Then and Telling Secrets. Mr. Buechner very eloquently and unashamedly addresses the issue of his life s tradgedies, and how God reached into his life through these events. But even more importantly, he tells of how his story is our story. ...the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the Holy power that life itself comes from... (From the book)In his wide-open honesty, Mr. Buechner lets the reader know that we are really all the same: we all have the joys and pains of life, and we all have the same access to the Holy Power that life ultimately comes from.I have been deeply touched by this book.



The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days