A Letter of Consolation
Finding Faith in a Time of Sorrow
Beloved author Henri Nouwen reflects on the spiritual significance of death and life in this moving meditation dedicated to “all those who suffer the pain that death can bring and who search for new life.”
“An essay in the form of a long letter to [Nouwen’s] father after the death of his mother. One might well pass it on to anyone who is going through a period of grief after loss.” — Christian Century
“Recognized for the depth and warmth of his spiritual communication, Father Nouwen grapples with death, a particular death–his mother’s…An intelligent, loving letter to a Christian facing a powerful enemy, death.” — Lutheran Libraries
Translations available in: Italian, Chinese
More About this Book
This short book (96 pages) was first written by Nouwen over the course of twelve days as a letter to his father six months after the death of his mother. The letter was written during the period of Lent and Easter of 1979 while Nouwen was on his second sabbatical at The Abbey of the Genesee, a Trappist monastery. Three years later he decided to publish the letter believing that the “fruits” of his grief should be “tasted” by others. In the letter he explores the meaning of his mother’s death for his life and that of his father, particularly as Christians. While a very personal book with many biographical details about the Nouwen family, the themes it considers will be consoling to anyone who has lost someone they love.
Themes: Death and Dying, Loss, Letter writing, Consolation, Befriending death, Confrontation, Mortification (‘making death’), Powerlessness, Detachment, Illusion of Immortality, Jesus, The Eucharist, Joyful waiting, Lent, Easter
Harper & Row, 1982