This is and excellent book for those who are staring out examining their spiritual life and those who have been on that road a while. Well worth reading slowly.

This is a book that should be read slowly. It is really a collection of Henri Nouwen's thoughts on Spiritual direction put together by people who knew and studied with him. It comes with guided prayers and suggested topics for journaling. There is tremendous wisdom here, including insights into the necessary components for spiritual growth and the importance of both solitude and community. It is a short book, but it will take some time to properly digest it.

A great short book on spiritual direction full of insights from Nouwen. Some concepts were not fully developed, as to be expected from a work compiled from miscellaneous writings after his death. Highly recommended quick read.

Nouwen answers 5 questions for each of us including "who am I". this is a great reflection on coming to terms with how we are called to live in Christ. Ultimately, when we live an "I am second" life, we find our lives.

This book was created after the death of Henri Nouwen. The content has been put together from his lectures, interviews, and content from his books and unpublished writings. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect or discipline in the spiritual life. It was as insightful as I find all of his writings.

“The Bible does not speak to us as long as we want to use it. As long as we deal with the word of God as an item with which we can do many useful things, we don’t really read the Bible or let it read us. Only when we are willing to hear the written word as a word for us can the Living Word disclose himself and penetrate into the center of our heart.”

This was an excellent read. He writes like an open raw individual, let us all see who he is from the inside showing that we all have insecurites, and how to deal with them. I enjoyed this one. I highly recommend this one.

This collection of Henri Nouwen’s thoughts challenged me to consider my spiritual life with God as the beautiful and sacred thing it is.

Nouwen poked against the edges of my traditionally Protestant theology, and I’m thankful. I was challenged to think a bit differently about how I interact with God, my community, and the broader world.


This lovely little book needs to be soaked in. So much so that I want to revisit it in the future.

A great book. I’ve read it through once, now looking forward to working my way through again more slowly (as the introduction suggests). This is a book produced posthumously, piecing together Henri Nouwen’s journals, articles, talks and letters etc. it has great flow and I have already learnt a lot. I do find it hard having the references to Jean Vanier in there, but he is a part of Henri Nouwen’s story. The rest of the book is just pure gold! I loved it.

‘Spiritual Direction’ gets 5 stars. Deeply honest, inspiring and encouraging you to dig deeper as you live out your faith and walk with Jesus. Henri Nouwen at his finest although he didn’t ‘write’ this book the thoughts, quotes and illustrations come from many of his sermons, articles, journals, class lecture notes and both published and unpublished manuscripts. It’s full of wisdom and particle advice on how to develop good habits in your spiritual journey.

One of my favourite parts reads….

“For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life - pray always, work for others, read the scriptures- and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tired again, even when I was close to despair.
Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realised that during this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not “How am I to find God?” But “How am I to let myself be found by God” The question is not “How am I to know God?” But “How am I to let myself be known by God?” The question is not “How am I to love God?” But “How am I to let myself be loved by God?” and finally, the question is not “Who is God for me?” but “Who am I to God?”

❤️

Knowing this book was published posthumously and that it was a compilation, my expectations were low. I LOVE Nouwen, but I just expected scraps here, with a few gems among the rubble. To my grateful surprise, this book is now one of my favorite of Nouwen's works. As always, it is thoughtful, introspective, and full of wisdom. Nouwen had such a beautiful way of pulling diamonds from the coal of his insecurity and loneliness. I'd recommend this book to anyone, but especially to anyone looking for more depth and authentic reflection on their spiritual life.

I have read many books by Henri Nouwen on Spirituality. This book is amazing because it offers an almost a "how-to" book on forming small groups to explore one's own spiritual journey. When he was a young priest, Henri Nouwen understood spiritual direction as a formal relationship for supervision and accountability between a mature spiritual leader and a new priest or minister. Later in life, he preferred the term "spiritual friendship" or "soul friend." Anyone looking for spiritual direction with an idea of forming a group should take a look at this book. It is inspiring!