The Inner Voice of Love

Nouwen, Catholic priest and popular author (The Wounded Healer, 1972), hit a six-month spiritual and mental crisis at the end of 1987 during which he ""wondered whether I would be able to hold on to my life. Everything came crashing down--my self-esteem, my energy to live and work, my sense of being loved, my hope for healing, my trust in God... everything."" This book is his personal journal written during his time of anguish. For years, Nouwen felt his experience was too personal to share with the world, but on advice from friends, and in the hope that these insights would help nurture others, he published his journal entries. Although there are occasional gems here, most of these meditations are rather generic. Perhaps this generic quality may make Nouwen and his work more human to a public that has come to view him as a spiritual giant. (Nov.)