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.
The old Quaker adage, "Let your life speak," spoke to author Parker J. Palmer when he was in his early 30s. It summoned him to a higher purpose, so he decided that henceforth he would live a nobler life. "I lined up the most elevated ideals I could find and set out to achieve them," he writes. "The results were rarely admirable, often laughable, and sometimes grotesque.... I had simply found a 'noble' way of living a life that was not my own, a life spent imitating heroes instead of listening to my heart."
Thirty years later, Palmer now understands that learning to let his life speak means "living the life that wants to live in me." It involves creating the kind of quiet, trusting conditions that allow a soul to speak its truth. It also means tuning out the noisy preconceived ideas about what a vocation should and shouldn't be so that we can better hear the call of our wild souls. There are no how-to formulas in this extremely unpretentious and well-written book, just fireside wisdom from an elder who is willing to share his mistakes and stories as he learned to live a life worth speaking about. --Gail Hudson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The Marketing Take on "Let Your Life Speak" When Parker Palmer wrote Let Your Life Speak, I doubt he expected me to endorse its message of differentiation. In fact, he probably wasn't thinking of his effort being cast as an entrepreneurial tool of any sort. That's because the book is intended to help readers take on spiritual issues, such as finding a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. It's not a "how to" manual. There are no step-by-step instructions, nor pages titled "The Four Things You NEED TO KNOW about Vocation." Instead,... more info
What am I missing? I read this book at the suggestion of a counselor who is helping me through depression and lack of interest in my career. While I was touched by his insights and authenticity, I was nagged by the practical aspect (or lack thereof) of letting your life speak. Palmer seemed to have an endless amount of time and resources to find his true calling in life. How does this apply to people who struggle just to put food on the table, who lack the means to get a higher education, or who have a family to support?... more info
Priceless wisdom... Books make great gifts. This is the one I give most often. I love Palmer's writing style and his message. As with his other books, Let Your Life Speak is well-organized and the concepts well developed. In this era, in this culture, there are countless forces that urge us to ask the wrong question-- What should I do with my life? That question and related ones are evidence of the distorting, external pressures (oughts) that surround us. A more organic approach is, in Palmer's words, "Before you tell... more info
A fantastic book A fantastic book! This book has been my default purchase for people that are going through tough times, or people that are at a point of change in their lives (or should be). It is free of the "you-can-do-it-all" fluffiness. It brings a real, truthful and deep approach to life. This is the kind of book that you not only read the words, but the spaces between the words. Great, great stuff. One of my all-time favorites.
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