Acedia and Me, by Kathleen Norris

Acedia and Me, by Kathleen Norris
Kathleen tells the story of her life and how she discovers the source of her ineffectiveness and despair through studies with a group of Monks in South Dakota.
A pleasantly married woman, with a fine husband besought with acute health problems, she often seeks respite in a monastery. Her private retreats engage her in nearly constant study and regiment her chaotic life into the monastic routine of matins and vespers, thus giving her a solid foundation for her spiritual studies and discoveries. She had not considered herself to be at all a religious person, but finds some comfort in the trappings of this regimented life. Her discoveries are of great benefit to anyone, whether they be agnostic or Christian, Jewish or Buddhist. If only it could be required reading for all religions and all philosophical departments.
She begins the book by defining acedia and tells how this ‘lost sin’ became lost to the world.
This engaging book is a must read for anyone who finds themselves on a spiritual path, or for anyone suffering from depression, fear, despondency or a myriad of other spiritual, mental and emotional maladies.
Because of the far-reaching influence of acedia, it needs to be looked at on a business, political and global scale. It would be interesting to study this book in a class setting alongside the book, Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell.
Once again, this was not a book I intended to read, but merely skimmed the first few pages so that I would having 'talking points' in the book store. Based upon that, I sold a copy to a young man wanting something helpfully 'meaty' and philosophical to read. Well, this young fellow returned a few weeks later and sought me out. He had tears in his eyes, and reached out to me. He thanked me for selling him this book. He said it had given him hope and changed his life. He handed me the book, asking me to accept it as a gift of his gratitude for bringing it to his attention. So that is how I got the book. And that is why I was able to read it.
Ms Norris is a fine author with a number of other credits to her name. Let us hope she continues to keep writing works of this caliber.  Category: Memoir/Philosophy
Reviewed by Victoria