God's Beloved: A Spiritual Biography of Henri Nouwen

Rating:
Summary: A Familiar Figure Rates a First-Rate Spiritual Biography
Review: Michael O'Laughlin enjoyed a close professional assocation and personal relationship for two decades with popular Dutch priest and spiritual writer Henri J. M. Nouwen. His biography reveals an insider's perspective and emerges as a true "labor of love." Strong suits of this treatment include chapters on Henri and the Eucharist, the centrality of Jesus in Henri's spirituality and Henri and prayer. The biographical data in the opening chapter and the section that follows that assesses Henri's psychology in light of Myers-Briggs categories are enlightening and balanced. Overall, this work strikes me as one of the most outstanding secondary sources available that treats the Nouwen legacy. As one who knew Henri over the course of three decades, I can honestly say that I learned more about him from this book than any other biography, including Michael Ford's excellent recent treatment. Helpful footnotes complement the text. It's affordable, highly readable, and enthusiastically recommended. -- Reverend Gerald S. Twomey, Ph.D.
Editor, CREATIVE MINISTER: THE LEGACY OF HENRI J.M. NOUWEN (forthcoming, 2006).

Rating:
Summary: From Pretend Priest to Renowned Spiritual Writer
Review: This biography of Henri Nouwen, who died in 1996, personalizes the Dutch priest, who was one of the most popular spiritual writers of his time. We learn early in the story that he was an outgoing, charismatic man who wrote about prayer and spirituality as well as issues such as solitude and the divide between rich and poor, always expressing his ideas in terms of personal experience. We see Nouwen growing up in Holland and moving to the U.S., where he entered a doctoral program in psychology, which he finished, despite growing discomfort with certain theories but more with questions about his suitability for this arena. We witness his special devotion to the liturgy, which first surfaced when he was eight and constructed a miniature chapel in the family attic where he delivered sermons to family and friends and carefully reenacted the Eucharist. Finally we see him find a true home living among those with mental difficulties at l'Arche Toronto

Henri Nouwen is portrayed as a richly spiritual, extremely human individual whose life teaches us a great deal about living the gospel in modern times.