Spiritual Formation Bibliography
This is a listing of some favorite books on spiritual formation from Janet, other spiritual directors and assorted friends. Gently annotated...
Buechner, Frederick- Almost anything he writes is worth a read. He is honest, moderate in his style, vulnerable about his own journey and hopeful, especially during the dark times. He was a chaplain and then left that work to become a full time writer. My personal favorite is Telling Secrets in which he talks about his father's suicide and his daughter's eating disorder and how they both affected his life.
Howatch, Susan- Her books will take you on a spiritual formation journey that you won't soon forget. Start with Glittering Images and be ready for a ride that will take you deeper into your own soul while all the time you think you are just reading novels. She is a master of writing and of soul work.
Nouwen, Henri- Any of his work is insightful, honest, and based on his life experiences. He changed so much over his life and detailed most of it in his books. At the end of his life he was living with profoundly disabled people in a community in Toronto. He said it was his holiest work and his most intimate experience of God.
Penny, Louise- If you want to learn about faith in real life distress, read any of her mystery series. She puts a real face on how people work out their faith and moral issues in their stressful work lives. My favorite of her books is A Beautiful Mystery, which takes place in an isolated monastery.
Richardson, Jan- Her work is transforming. She is deep, rich, truthful, and unafraid. She writes of her own hard journey but with such grace you want to be there with her. Two of her most memorable books are Sacred Journeys, weekly forays into the journey's of women, and Night Visions, the real unpolished journey through Advent. She is Methodist clergywoman and healer.
Silf, Margaret- Her whole body of writing is worth reading but her most special book, in my experience, is The Inner Compass. It is a journey from a life of self centeredness to a life of healing and feeling God's insistent love. She knows about the inner life, not from a academic distance but from a life lived on the ground.
Underhill, Evelyn- A twentieth century scholar, writer and mystic. She writes most cogently of the inner life from a historical perspective and has written a tome on the inner journey of all the famous mystics and saints. Her most rewarding books for me were, Concerning the Inner Life and Practical Mysticism.
Buechner, Frederick- Almost anything he writes is worth a read. He is honest, moderate in his style, vulnerable about his own journey and hopeful, especially during the dark times. He was a chaplain and then left that work to become a full time writer. My personal favorite is Telling Secrets in which he talks about his father's suicide and his daughter's eating disorder and how they both affected his life.
Howatch, Susan- Her books will take you on a spiritual formation journey that you won't soon forget. Start with Glittering Images and be ready for a ride that will take you deeper into your own soul while all the time you think you are just reading novels. She is a master of writing and of soul work.
Nouwen, Henri- Any of his work is insightful, honest, and based on his life experiences. He changed so much over his life and detailed most of it in his books. At the end of his life he was living with profoundly disabled people in a community in Toronto. He said it was his holiest work and his most intimate experience of God.
Penny, Louise- If you want to learn about faith in real life distress, read any of her mystery series. She puts a real face on how people work out their faith and moral issues in their stressful work lives. My favorite of her books is A Beautiful Mystery, which takes place in an isolated monastery.
Richardson, Jan- Her work is transforming. She is deep, rich, truthful, and unafraid. She writes of her own hard journey but with such grace you want to be there with her. Two of her most memorable books are Sacred Journeys, weekly forays into the journey's of women, and Night Visions, the real unpolished journey through Advent. She is Methodist clergywoman and healer.
Silf, Margaret- Her whole body of writing is worth reading but her most special book, in my experience, is The Inner Compass. It is a journey from a life of self centeredness to a life of healing and feeling God's insistent love. She knows about the inner life, not from a academic distance but from a life lived on the ground.
Underhill, Evelyn- A twentieth century scholar, writer and mystic. She writes most cogently of the inner life from a historical perspective and has written a tome on the inner journey of all the famous mystics and saints. Her most rewarding books for me were, Concerning the Inner Life and Practical Mysticism.