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Rating:  - Spiritual Direction: Wisdom For the Long Walk of Faith by Henri Nouwen
I have always liked Henri Nouwen's writings because they are real and also that he is not afraid to talk about his own personal struggles whether life or faith. The book was well presented and gives good insights to those who like myself have directees for spiritual direction. It is also good for my personally being in spiritual direction myself. A good book to use and refer to at times and a good addition to anyones's spiritual library.
Rating:  - One of his best.
I have been a long time fan of Henri Nouwen. His books seem to cross over denominations, and even religious affiliations. Even though this one was written posthumously, it stays true to his spirit of more relationship to God, and less religion.
Rating: - Henri Nouwen's Contribution To Spiritual Direction
Henri Nouwen was a great promoter of the practice of spiritual direction, but he never wrote a book on the subject. This is surprising since he wrote a wide array of books on just about any given subject in the Christian spiritual quest. He did write a number of articles on the subject, and there are a number of unpublished article and writings pertaining to the subject. Two close friends and associates of Nouwen, Michael Christensen and Rebecca Laird have compiled these writings into a book that is entirely Nouwen's writings (without commentary) and could just be the book Nouwen would have written if he had approached the subject.
While the book is meant to be an introduction to spiritual direction for a person interested in the subject, Nouwen's rich writing and his ability to speak to the heart will make this book a treasure for any reader. The book covers the basic topics that any book on spiritual direction should include. It begins with life's basic questions, looking at direction in life, the quest for God, and prayer. While the book is ecumenical in approach, Nouwen is indebted his roots in the Roman Catholic tradition. He does not mention different spiritual traditions specifically, e.g. Jesuit, Trappist, or Carmelite, but readers familiar with these approaches will see glimpses of each as well as Nouwen's unique ability to include the longing and goodness of humanity in general as a way of approaching God.
For most of Christian history, spiritual direction was practiced almost exclusively by clergy and religious, and more often than not, the spiritual director was the person's confessor. It was not the domain of most members of the laity and from what I understand, it was all but non-existent in Christian traditions outside of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Nouwen was one of the early proponents of making this practice available to anyone who desires it. The book will not only be enriching for readers but will be an important resource in years to come.
Rating: - An apt title
This compilation is an informative and effective presentation of the discipline of spiritual direction. If one was interested in spiritual direction and wanted to find out what it was all about and its potential, this would be a great place to start.
Rating: - A Very Personal Book on Spiritual Direction
This is more than a book on Spiritual Direction, but a 'life' of Spiritual Direction. The subject is introduced with Henri Nouwen's real life experiences that are very transparent and naked, that speaks to the hunger of every human soul with great impact.
I deducted one star for Nouwen's universalist theology; the swing from his childhood narrow Roman Catholic view to embracing all religions universally seems to be his western reductionist naiveté. I say this because I grew up in three religions and able to see both western fundamentalist and universalist Christians to be reductionistic. In short, the Christianity that Jesus Christ brought to us should not be reduced to a mere religion.
In fact, when it comes to spiritual direction at an advanced level, who cares about theology? You will be walking and talking with Jesus at every moment of your day, so why bother who has it right? My concern was only to those who are weak that they may stumble and fall by tripping on the authors' childish theology. Other than that, by all means read this book and seek your spiritual growth. Learn from the way Nouwen seek his intimacy with the Lord, not from the way he talks about religions!
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