cover image BEFRIENDING LIFE: Encounters with Henri Nouwen

BEFRIENDING LIFE: Encounters with Henri Nouwen

, . . Doubleday, $21.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-385-50202-3

Given the transparent quality that marked the plethora of books Henri Nouwen wrote before his death in 1996, it hardly seems possible that there could be anything more to learn about this remarkable Catholic priest. But this compilation of recollections by those who knew him best opens yet another window into his personality. Nouwen, a theologian, died at the age of 64 after a distinguished academic career that included teaching at Yale and Harvard. He spent the last years of his life at L'Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto, Canada, where he lived among and helped care for the physically and mentally disabled people who form the core of the L'Arche communities. Because L'Arche was the home Nouwen had spent much of his life seeking, it is most appropriate that Porter, a fellow L'Arche member, has drawn heavily from their community in assembling this collection of remembrances. What emerges is the stuff of family reunions: memories of a trip with Henri, a birthday celebration, a baptism, a Bat Mitzvah, a wedding, a death. Each reminiscence resonates with the spirituality that Nouwen was able to impart not only to fellow Catholics, but to those outside his faith. Nouwen's own openness about his weaknesses apparently freed those around him to be frank in sharing their impressions of him. The result is a book that easily doubles as an introduction to the man and a postscript for those who are already well-acquainted with his works. (July)