Yale Divinity School, 1971 - 1981
Henri teaching at Yale
When Yale Divinity School invited Nouwen to teach there in 1971, he accepted with conditions. He would not have to write a dissertation, and he would receive tenure after three years and full professorship within five years. He also wanted to be free to write without restrictions. Over the next ten years, Nouwen’s classes became some of the most popular on campus. This period was very fruitful - he made many good friends, was beloved by his students and began to publish prolifically. His widely read books The Wounded Healer, Reaching Out and The Way of the Heart, among others, date from these years.
During this time Nouwen also discovered solitude by twice spending about seven months living as a monk in the Trappist Monastery of the Genesee in New York State. He wrote about this experience in The Genesee Diary. And Nouwen’s mother died during this time. He wrote compellingly about her death and the gift of her life in In Memoriam and A Letter of Consolation.
