The Dance of Life: Weaving Sorrows And Blessings into One Joyful Step
By Henri J. M. Nouwen, edited by Michael J Ford
(Ave Maria Press; St Paul’s Publications. 2006)
Henri Nouwen’s biographer Michael J Ford has compiled the late author’s thoughts and reflections along with a brief biographical sketch that provide a glimpse into one of the finest Catholic minds of our time. Nouwen was a celebrated thinker, psychologist, scholar, bestselling author, caring pastor and public speaker. The nine thematically arranged chapters of the book include extracts from Nouwen’s vast corpus of writings.
Born in Holland and ordained a priest in 1957, Henri Nouwen completed a doctorate in psychology, and then shifted to the US, where did further training. He taught at some top American universities. He left the academic world, and spent the last ten years of his life at Daybreak, in Canada, a centre devoted to the care of mentally and physically persons. His service to them was extraordinary, and he felt at home with them.
Nouwen viewed this life as “the opportunity to claim for ourselves the love that God offers us from eternity to eternity.” He believed that he was on the way home, his entire life “a journey back to the heart of God.” He was acutely conscious of the fact that the world that we live in conspired against our faith, making us deaf to the Word of God. Therefore he sought his life in “the discipline of the Church, the discipline of the Book and the discipline of the Heart.”
Being a priest and a qualified psychologist, his writings combine both psychological insights and spiritual lessons, helping the contemporary reader to face the challenges of life today. His honesty and compassion engage the reader. Ford notes that Nouwen’s words “touched hearts because he understood the depths and the vagaries of human emotions. Moreover, as he had ‘been there himself,’ he could write convincingly about searching for God in the darkness of unknowing.” Getting intimate with God means having the courage to move away from our “safe places” because it is “moving into the unknown.” We have to give up our “illusory self control.” Moreover, “it would be an illusion to believe that reaching out to God will free us from pain and suffering.” Prayer is the expression of our greatest love but “is far from sweet and easy.” Nouwen also provides deep insights into subjects like community life, identity crisis, hope and despair, sickness and death from wisdom provided by real experience. Simple yet profound, the book may inspire us to explore Nouwen further.
Between Parent and Child
by Dr. Haim G. Ginott
Revised and updated by Dr. Alice Ginott & Dr. H. Wallace Goddard. (2003) (Available on Amazon.in for Rs 399)
This famous book by renowned psychologist Haim G. Ginott seems to have helped millions of parents. It sold over five million copies! The book offers practical tips (theory and concepts explained with examples) on how to bring up children in a warm and yet disciplined setting.
The new edition is revised and edited by two other psychologists—Dr Alice Ginott (Haim Ginott’s wife) and Dr H. Wallace Goddard, who is a family relationship specialist. The book takes the view that parenting is a skill that can be learnt. It shows the reader how to: (a) discipline children without threats, sarcasm and severe punishments; (b) criticize kids without humiliating them, and express anger without hurting or bitterness; (c) acknowledge the children’s views and feelings without arguing with them; (d) respond to one’s children in a way that develops trust and self-confidence. The book also mentions the common mistakes parents make. In case some of our readers wonder whether an American book is suitable for Indian families, here is what an Indian reviewer wrote: “This is my first book on parenting and I’m totally impressed. Initially thought or felt that the methods mentioned in this book might apply only to kids in Western culture… It just worked like a magic in my household (I’m from India). My wife was able to notice a clear difference in my approach towards my kid and I was able to notice the change in my kid’s behaviour and his approach towards me. I strongly recommend this book…Every concept is accompanied by examples and illustrations.”
Dr Gigy Joseph
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