What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wounded Healer : Ministry in Contemporary Society
The Wounded Healer is a hope-filled and profoundly simple book that speaks directly to those men and women who want to be of service in their church or community, but have found the traditional ways often threatening and ineffective. In this book, Henri Nouwen combines creative case studies of ministry with stories from diverse cultures and religious traditions in preparing a new model for ministry. Weaving keen cultural analysis with his psychological and religious insights, Nouwen has come up with a balanced and creative theology of service that begins with the realization of fundamental woundedness in human nature. Emphasizing that which is in humanity common to both minister and believer, this woundedness can serve as a source of strength and healing when counseling others. Nouwen proceeds to develop his approach to ministry with an analysis of sufferings -- a suffering world, a suffering generation, a suffering person, and a suffering minister. It is his contention that ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. For Nouwen, ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering -- in the image of Christ. In other words, we heal from our own wounds. Filled with examples from everyday experience, The Wounded Healer is a thoughtful and insightful guide that will be welcomed by anyone engaged in the service of others.
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
Henri J.M. Nouwen
337 books1,886 followersHenri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (Nouen), (1932–1996) was a Dutch-born Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books on the spiritual life.
Nouwen's books are widely read today by Protestants and Catholics alike. The Wounded Healer, In the Name of Jesus, Clowning in Rome, The Life of the Beloved, and The Way of the Heart are just a few of the more widely recognized titles. After nearly two decades of teaching at the Menninger Foundation Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, and at the University of Notre Dame, Yale University and Harvard University, he went to share his life with mentally handicapped people at the L'Arche community of Daybreak in Toronto, Canada. After a long period of declining energy, which he chronicled in his final book, Sabbatical Journey, he died in September 1996 from a sudden heart attack.
His spirituality was influenced by many, notably by his friendship with Jean Vanier. At the invitation of Vanier he visited L'Arche in France, the first of over 130 communities around the world where people with developmental disabilities live and share life together with those who care for them. In 1986 Nouwen accepted the position of pastor for a L'Arche community called "Daybreak" in Canada, near Toronto. Nouwen wrote about his relationship with Adam, a core member at L'Arche Daybreak with profound developmental disabilities, in a book titled Adam: God's Beloved. Father Nouwen was a good friend of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin.
The results of a Christian Century magazine survey conducted in 2003 indicate that Nouwen's work was a first choice of authors for Catholic and mainline Protestant clergy.
One of his most famous works is Inner Voice of Love, his diary from December 1987 to June 1988 during one of his most serious bouts with clinical depression.
There is a Father Henri J. M. Nouwen Catholic Elementary School in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Nouwen's books are widely read today by Protestants and Catholics alike. The Wounded Healer, In the Name of Jesus, Clowning in Rome, The Life of the Beloved, and The Way of the Heart are just a few of the more widely recognized titles. After nearly two decades of teaching at the Menninger Foundation Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, and at the University of Notre Dame, Yale University and Harvard University, he went to share his life with mentally handicapped people at the L'Arche community of Daybreak in Toronto, Canada. After a long period of declining energy, which he chronicled in his final book, Sabbatical Journey, he died in September 1996 from a sudden heart attack.
His spirituality was influenced by many, notably by his friendship with Jean Vanier. At the invitation of Vanier he visited L'Arche in France, the first of over 130 communities around the world where people with developmental disabilities live and share life together with those who care for them. In 1986 Nouwen accepted the position of pastor for a L'Arche community called "Daybreak" in Canada, near Toronto. Nouwen wrote about his relationship with Adam, a core member at L'Arche Daybreak with profound developmental disabilities, in a book titled Adam: God's Beloved. Father Nouwen was a good friend of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin.
The results of a Christian Century magazine survey conducted in 2003 indicate that Nouwen's work was a first choice of authors for Catholic and mainline Protestant clergy.
One of his most famous works is Inner Voice of Love, his diary from December 1987 to June 1988 during one of his most serious bouts with clinical depression.
There is a Father Henri J. M. Nouwen Catholic Elementary School in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 701 reviews
March 24, 2008
I set out to read Henri Nouwen's 100 page book thinking I would finish it in a few days. Instead, as always with Nouwen, it took me several weeks to read. Every time I picked it up I found myself flipping back through my previous reading, and every time I set it down I found myself spending days processing the few pages I just completed.
Nouwen is, at heart, a philosopher and a psychologist and his writing is organized according to a logical formula. Some may struggle against that structure or with that jargon, but if you can move past it you will find beautiful truth within and an amazing understanding of our very current culture (despite the fact that the book was written almost 30 years ago).
Nouwen seemed to anticipate the hopelessness that prevails in our present society, the growing sense among our youth that they cannot create a better future for their world, and to that hopeless he encourages us to move out of the old formula for ministry that has us "thinking in terms of large-scale organization, getting people together in churches, schools and hospitals, and running the show as a circus director" and and realize that "pastoral conversation is not merely a skillful use of conversation techniques to manipulate people into the Kingdom of God, but a deep human encounter in which a man is willing to put his own faith and doubt, his own hope and despair, his own light and darkness at the disposal of others who want to find a way through their confusion and touch the solid core of life." The overarching theme of the book resides in the following passage:"Jesus has given this story a new fullness by making his own broken body the way to health, to liberation and new life. Thus like Jesus, he who proclaims liberation is called not only to care for his own wounds and the wounds of others, but also to make his wounds into a major source of his healing power."
As Nouwen writes, it is precisely in this hopeless culture that the "wounded healer" can make his life and his own suffering available to others, and "making one's own wounds a source of healing, therefore, does not call for a sharing or superficial personal pains, but for a constant willingness to see one's one pain and suffering as rising from the depth of the human condition which all men share." Perhaps then we too, as Nouwen concludes, can understand that "...the imitation of Christ does not mean to live a life like Christ but to live your life as authentically as Christ lived his...."
Nouwen is, at heart, a philosopher and a psychologist and his writing is organized according to a logical formula. Some may struggle against that structure or with that jargon, but if you can move past it you will find beautiful truth within and an amazing understanding of our very current culture (despite the fact that the book was written almost 30 years ago).
Nouwen seemed to anticipate the hopelessness that prevails in our present society, the growing sense among our youth that they cannot create a better future for their world, and to that hopeless he encourages us to move out of the old formula for ministry that has us "thinking in terms of large-scale organization, getting people together in churches, schools and hospitals, and running the show as a circus director" and and realize that "pastoral conversation is not merely a skillful use of conversation techniques to manipulate people into the Kingdom of God, but a deep human encounter in which a man is willing to put his own faith and doubt, his own hope and despair, his own light and darkness at the disposal of others who want to find a way through their confusion and touch the solid core of life." The overarching theme of the book resides in the following passage:"Jesus has given this story a new fullness by making his own broken body the way to health, to liberation and new life. Thus like Jesus, he who proclaims liberation is called not only to care for his own wounds and the wounds of others, but also to make his wounds into a major source of his healing power."
As Nouwen writes, it is precisely in this hopeless culture that the "wounded healer" can make his life and his own suffering available to others, and "making one's own wounds a source of healing, therefore, does not call for a sharing or superficial personal pains, but for a constant willingness to see one's one pain and suffering as rising from the depth of the human condition which all men share." Perhaps then we too, as Nouwen concludes, can understand that "...the imitation of Christ does not mean to live a life like Christ but to live your life as authentically as Christ lived his...."
July 21, 2018
Nouwen’s opening chapter, a description of ‘Nuclear Man’, a prototype ‘modern man’, almost made me give up the book entirely. Nuclear Man—to me—sounded like a 1960/70/80’s person (the book was published in 1979) disillusioned with the Cold War and the Super Powers, living from day-to-day in constant fear of complete annihilation. I recognize Nouwen’s Nuclear Man who, ‘has lost naïve faith in the possibilities of technologies and is painfully aware that the same powers that enable man to create new life styles carry the potential for self-destruction.’
He is just not who most Healers will be ministering to today. Rather, now we have an entirely different situation, a generation with strong faith in science and technology. For many, they have even become god(s).
After this first chapter, however, I fell in step with the rest of Nouwen’s ideas/concepts concerning ‘the Wounded Healer’.
Nouwen’s explanation of ‘articulation’ and its importance to being an effective healer was phenomenal. A minister who is able to do that is worth his/her weight in gold! I marked the heck out of those pages, with, “yes, Yes! YES!” thinking all the while of those in my life who were able to unlock doors for me because they could recognize the work of God in the event of my life, those I loved, or elsewhere. This is an invaluable skill.
The critique of the elderly man in the hospital who was dying and the young minister who was trying to minister to him was also invaluable.
The best part of the whole book was the legend from the Talmud concerning the Messiah which I wish I could recount. It is in two parts and each part reveals the great healing which can come from woundedness. Our wounds do not preclude us from helping others; they qualify us if we know how to let them.
Much wisdom!
July 12, 2018: Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of my 1st Spiritual Director's death. When I visited her friend and companion, Pat, who cared for RM in the last years of her life (she had advanced MS) Pat asked me go through RM's books and take as many as I wanted. This book was one of the few which I did not already have and knew I would read immediately. Took it to Adoration last week and have greatly enjoyed it so far. Felt like I was sharing it with RM.
He is just not who most Healers will be ministering to today. Rather, now we have an entirely different situation, a generation with strong faith in science and technology. For many, they have even become god(s).
After this first chapter, however, I fell in step with the rest of Nouwen’s ideas/concepts concerning ‘the Wounded Healer’.
Nouwen’s explanation of ‘articulation’ and its importance to being an effective healer was phenomenal. A minister who is able to do that is worth his/her weight in gold! I marked the heck out of those pages, with, “yes, Yes! YES!” thinking all the while of those in my life who were able to unlock doors for me because they could recognize the work of God in the event of my life, those I loved, or elsewhere. This is an invaluable skill.
The critique of the elderly man in the hospital who was dying and the young minister who was trying to minister to him was also invaluable.
The best part of the whole book was the legend from the Talmud concerning the Messiah which I wish I could recount. It is in two parts and each part reveals the great healing which can come from woundedness. Our wounds do not preclude us from helping others; they qualify us if we know how to let them.
Much wisdom!
July 12, 2018: Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of my 1st Spiritual Director's death. When I visited her friend and companion, Pat, who cared for RM in the last years of her life (she had advanced MS) Pat asked me go through RM's books and take as many as I wanted. This book was one of the few which I did not already have and knew I would read immediately. Took it to Adoration last week and have greatly enjoyed it so far. Felt like I was sharing it with RM.
March 31, 2013
I came to Henri Nouwen on the recommendation of Fred Rogers, and I was not disappointed. This slim volume is somewhat dated (I was pleasantly surprised to see two King Crimson songs quoted in the second essay, for instance), but its central message is timeless: that the very experiences that wound us most deeply are also those from which we can draw the greatest strength. Nouwen does not romanticize suffering; it is not suffering itself that is beautiful, but rather what human beings can do with it. Nouwen uses the metaphor of the Grand Canyon: a scar on the landscape in one sense, and yet in another sense a place of almost unbearable beauty. I use the metaphor of a bog: nobody likes to get stuck in a bog. It's fetid and rank and sometimes it feels as though you'll never escape. But a bog is also the place where coal forms; and coal burns. Indeed--and this is Nouwen's central thesis--it is through facing our own hurts and fears that we can begin to help others face theirs - not to make the hurts and fears disappear, but to be fully present with them in the midst of their darkness and, with the coal of our own experience, to be for them a fire in the night.
July 5, 2021
The Wounded Healer, first published in 1979, offers a contemplative path for ministry. While it's obvious that Nouwen has celibate Catholic priests in mind as his audience, I found much that applied to my life as a married Protestant laywoman. Part of this was helped by the Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust's choice to update the language a bit without changing the examples or gist of the text.
Nouwen's ideas of the wounded healer, hospitality, and the contemplative critic were particularly meaningful to me. Nouwen truly grasps "servant leadership," and the abject humility required for all Christians, particularly leaders. Having been through a few churches that were nearly cults of personality, I found his vision of Christian leadership deeply refreshing. Gone is the vision of fame and platform, returned is the vision of "doing little things with great love."
A major disconnect early in the text for me was his discussion of the "rootless generations." Much of it simply doesn't apply to the currently young generations. He quotes a 1969 study by Jeffrey K. Hadden that speaks of this generation as "almost void of notions for exercise of responsibility toward others." (33) That simply doesn't ring true today. If anything, the youth of today are overburdened by such responsibility. Social media has widened and increased peer pressure, creating a legalistic system of conformity to social and political opinion. This portion may become relevant again at some point, but for now, it made the book feel dated.
Overall, I enjoyed reading The Wounded Healer and I'll return for Nouwen's insights again. This is the first book I've read by him and I look forward to more.
Nouwen's ideas of the wounded healer, hospitality, and the contemplative critic were particularly meaningful to me. Nouwen truly grasps "servant leadership," and the abject humility required for all Christians, particularly leaders. Having been through a few churches that were nearly cults of personality, I found his vision of Christian leadership deeply refreshing. Gone is the vision of fame and platform, returned is the vision of "doing little things with great love."
A major disconnect early in the text for me was his discussion of the "rootless generations." Much of it simply doesn't apply to the currently young generations. He quotes a 1969 study by Jeffrey K. Hadden that speaks of this generation as "almost void of notions for exercise of responsibility toward others." (33) That simply doesn't ring true today. If anything, the youth of today are overburdened by such responsibility. Social media has widened and increased peer pressure, creating a legalistic system of conformity to social and political opinion. This portion may become relevant again at some point, but for now, it made the book feel dated.
Overall, I enjoyed reading The Wounded Healer and I'll return for Nouwen's insights again. This is the first book I've read by him and I look forward to more.
December 20, 2008
I read this years and years ago. It changed my life.
November 24, 2022
Stars are problematic, here. The "Ministry in Contemporary Society" bit is rather outdated. Contemporary society is different from what it was fifty years ago. But when Nouwen exposits the rest of the title--the image of the minister as wounded healer--the book becomes beautifully almost timeless. I believe that what he says is true. It is what I have come to believe, though not articulate, before I read him say it.
November 21, 2023
This is my first Nouwen book and I’m moved. He has a beautiful writing style that comes off as wise and tender. The main idea is that our suffering does not disqualify us to lead others but enables us. Understanding the human experience of suffering can give us a glimpse into the life to come and we have the opportunity to invite others into this vision. I also like his take on hospitality and community. I recommend 🥲
August 31, 2021
I first read this book 20 years ago and loved it taking pertinent principles for ministry relating to shared vulnerability, walking together in brokenness with one another and Jesus, being a healing community etc.
In returning to the book, I am struck by the dated language. It was really hard to get over the fact of the book being written to a male audience. I appreciated that Nouwen was aware of this dominance in his acknowledgements yet it grated me regularly as I read about creating an open and safe space for healing and fresh creativity whilst not being acknowledged as a having validity in my role as a female pastor.
Even the title of 'nuclear man' given to Peter, speaks a bygone era even if some of the cultural analysis continues to have resonance with the journey to today's world. A rewriting today would embrace a different reading of cultural indicators.
There are some very helpful conclusions presented in an accessible way. I would recommend it to all pastoral disciples but do wonder how younger generations would respond to the dated language.
In returning to the book, I am struck by the dated language. It was really hard to get over the fact of the book being written to a male audience. I appreciated that Nouwen was aware of this dominance in his acknowledgements yet it grated me regularly as I read about creating an open and safe space for healing and fresh creativity whilst not being acknowledged as a having validity in my role as a female pastor.
Even the title of 'nuclear man' given to Peter, speaks a bygone era even if some of the cultural analysis continues to have resonance with the journey to today's world. A rewriting today would embrace a different reading of cultural indicators.
There are some very helpful conclusions presented in an accessible way. I would recommend it to all pastoral disciples but do wonder how younger generations would respond to the dated language.
January 12, 2022
I am grateful for this man’s vision. I felt seen, challenged and encouraged. He demonstrates in his own words “Indeed, the paradox of Christian leadership is that the way out is also the way in, that only by entering into communion with human suffering can relief be found.” God give us strength for the task.
August 9, 2022
This is up there with "Reaching Out" as one of Nouwen's books that remind the reader that he truly can do it all when it comes to Christian spirituality and faith. The book diagnosed current issues that humans face in their worldviews and identifies explicit remedies that a "minister" can partake in to heal these issues. This was a book on anthropology and Christianity's humble approach to meeting the hurts of the world. The dynamics of a "minister" and their own suffering plays a huge role in serving others. (Minister is in quotes because this is not explicit to the profession of a minister but a call to all Christians)
For a long time I was pretty bored with Nouwen after reading his well-known, spiritual books. Books like this remind me that he has put in the work of studying the world and how to offer sentiments to help the situation. I think I will read those books with more weight to them now.
For a long time I was pretty bored with Nouwen after reading his well-known, spiritual books. Books like this remind me that he has put in the work of studying the world and how to offer sentiments to help the situation. I think I will read those books with more weight to them now.
October 23, 2020
Sometimes I really understood what the author going for, sometimes the book challenged my personal outlooks and beliefs and sometimes it was a really challenging read.
I feel like this book really makes you think, even though its examples and disjointed nature make it a bit difficult to access.
I enjoyed my time with it, sometimes.
However, it might not be for everyone.
I feel like this book really makes you think, even though its examples and disjointed nature make it a bit difficult to access.
I enjoyed my time with it, sometimes.
However, it might not be for everyone.
August 4, 2022
Nouwen is such a thoughtful thinker and writer. Always appreciate his teachings and the way he communicates them. Good read for anyone who is ministering to people.
“His [Jesus’s] appearance in our midst made it undeniably clear that changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.”
“His [Jesus’s] appearance in our midst made it undeniably clear that changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.”
February 7, 2021
Nouwen opens this book by giving light to a particular worldview that he sees as slowly becoming the norm in his modern society. This paradigm, that he calls the “nuclear man” is characterized by boredom with the world, apathy, confusion, a lack of hope that is paralyzing, and some other aspects that have, I believe, lost their relevance since 1970. Yet, they still give a fascinating insight into a situation that is part of the proximate history of the society we are faced with today. Something that I found particularly valuable about this introduction, however, is the way that it demonstrates well the extent to which an appropriate view of the world and man’s place in it can no longer be taken for granted, and needs to be reintroduced into society.
Probably the most significant shortcoming, however, is that Nouwen spends almost the entire book talking about what makes a good “Christian leader,” without talking about Jesus Christ. There is really only one very vague and confusing paragraph, about 3/4 of the way through the book, in which he basically just says “and of course all of this is related to Christ, because Christ also has basic concern for people.” In fact, there are no references to the New Testament in the whole book. The only references to scripture are a couple of psalm quotes right at the end. There is literally nothing about his concept of a “Christian leader” that makes it Christian, and the whole thing has just left confused about how and why he is using that term. There was, moreover, a bit of theology that I found questionable, and would love for the chance to ask him more about.
Probably the most significant shortcoming, however, is that Nouwen spends almost the entire book talking about what makes a good “Christian leader,” without talking about Jesus Christ. There is really only one very vague and confusing paragraph, about 3/4 of the way through the book, in which he basically just says “and of course all of this is related to Christ, because Christ also has basic concern for people.” In fact, there are no references to the New Testament in the whole book. The only references to scripture are a couple of psalm quotes right at the end. There is literally nothing about his concept of a “Christian leader” that makes it Christian, and the whole thing has just left confused about how and why he is using that term. There was, moreover, a bit of theology that I found questionable, and would love for the chance to ask him more about.
June 12, 2023
I’m glad for short, although still dense, books because I read this one twice, and it didn’t feel daunting to do so. It was honestly hard to really understand what I was reading in my first read through, but I was able to go more slowly and soak in the content on the second. I’m very tempted to bump this book into my loosely help top five most important books I’ve ever read. I honestly can’t tell right now if that’s due to a season of life or if I’ll still hold this book in the same light after some time passes.
The writing about compassion and hospitality strikes a deep chord in me, and I hope they are something that grows much deeper and more prevalent in my life.
“One compassionate face or one affectionate handshake can substitute for years of friendship when a person is in agony. Not only does love last forever, it needs only a second to be born.”
The writing about compassion and hospitality strikes a deep chord in me, and I hope they are something that grows much deeper and more prevalent in my life.
“One compassionate face or one affectionate handshake can substitute for years of friendship when a person is in agony. Not only does love last forever, it needs only a second to be born.”
August 9, 2020
This short book focuses on the paradox of ministry in a society of alienated individuals and the need to embrace our own frailty to make ourselves useful to others. I found it very useful in unwinding some myths I had accepted about ministry.
August 15, 2022
I never get tired of Father Henri's work. He is very much himself a wounded healer. His capacity to reach into his own soul and life experience to provide his audience with tremendous depth and richness is unparalleled. Highly recommend.
January 9, 2024
At first I thought this book seemed a bit dated but it was worth sticking with as the last few chapters were very thought provoking. Nouwen’s writing never fails to challenge the reader and make you look at things differently.
February 12, 2016
There are a lot of rich insights in this little book. At some point I want to really reflect on some of the meatier statements.
May 18, 2021
I’ve read few books that have truly shaped and transformed my way of thinking and subsequently my way of living. This book stands among them.
November 4, 2021
A very helpful read, and a needed angle on the role of the minister. The “contemporary society” of the book is of course, no longer contemporary. The insights are now about America’s grandparents, but the reader can set a trajectory and draw from Nouwen’s insights to form new insights about our current day. I suppose that in many ways this type of “wounded healer” is still a needed model. I know few leaders who truly do it, especially fused with gospel hope. I would suggest that Christians who want to minister read this book and seek to update it in their own contexts.
July 5, 2024
This book is 50 years old, but Nouwen saw people are they are and Jesus as He is. Nouwen humanizes ministry in a deeply gracious way in this book.
“A Christian community is therefore a healing community not because wounds are cured and pains are alleviated, but because wounds and pains become openings or occasions for a new vision. Mutual confession then becomes a mutual deepening of hope, and sharing weakness becomes a reminder to one and all of the coming strength” (94).
“A Christian community is therefore a healing community not because wounds are cured and pains are alleviated, but because wounds and pains become openings or occasions for a new vision. Mutual confession then becomes a mutual deepening of hope, and sharing weakness becomes a reminder to one and all of the coming strength” (94).
Read
April 10, 2023The first chapter of this book screams "I WAS WRITTEN DURING THE COLD WAR." But this dissipates, and I found Nouwen's perception of generational needs to have accuracy both generally and personally. I will chew on the examples he gives, but I sadly found this book to be rather bland... could very well be the fault of the reader not the writer though.
September 18, 2023
Really enjoyed this one. Chapter 1 was a little tough to get into, but as the book progressed it got easier to read and understand. Chapter 4 was 🔥. Loved his section on “personal loneliness” as a wounded minister.
June 17, 2023
4.5 ✨— Nouwen is one of the most influential theologians for me and this iteration of his gentle and invitational approach to ministry absolutely hit the spot. I’m just really grateful he existed and I’m grateful for this text.
September 19, 2017
I've read only two of Nouwen's books so far, and just from those I can say his books warrant a 2nd and maybe a 3rd reading. His insights are rich, dense, and provoke a lot of contemplation. This is most definitely not a book to peruse through, but something to meditate on. I love the title- it perfectly describes the subject of this marvelous short book. People in helping professions develop their compassion and ability to help heal others by being wounded themselves, just as Christ was wounded. Highly recommend this book for pastors, counselors and anyone who wants to help others.
February 14, 2024
Simple, moving vision of how we minister to others , not by fixing them, but by our own study, and contemplation of our personal wounds (like loneliness) we provide a space of listening to, safety, and an environment of solidarity in the human experience of suffering.
May 20, 2021
Nouwen's discussion of what makes a good Christian minister ( and by extension a good Christian) are extremely important today. His comments about loneliness are also very thought provoking.
December 26, 2020
I like how every chapter is systematically introducing ideas, then explaining and concluding them at the end. Some of those ideas such as the difference between nuclear and prenuclear man or what are the challenges to hospitality in todays world are new for me and I find their definition here understandable and relatable.
May 6, 2024
As a Pastor this book was a great reminder of the depth of compassion and relationship we are called to with those we minister to. And a reminder that it's not out of our own strengths that we minister to others but out of a shared weakness that we find healing and hope. Go read this!!
March 29, 2023
The life and works of the Catholic priest Henri Nouwen have caught my interest recently because I have been reading many articles about him, his struggles, and how he inspired other people in their struggles. I know that he wrote many Christian spiritual books but I thought that this should probably be the first one I should read because I was deeply intrigued by the title. The idea of a "wounded healer" always interested me. I consider myself quite a sad and lonely person so I always hoped that becoming wise through my sadness and loneliness so I can help others sounded like something I can aspire to.
As much as I like the idea of a "wounded healer" and hope others can consider why I find it so appealing, I might actually refrain from recommending this book quickly to others. The reason for that is because the writing and tone of the book really makes it obvious that Father Henri Nouwen had a really specific target audience in mind: Christian clergy and leaders. Most people, and even most Christians, are not clerics or have high positions of religious authority. Despite the book having a specific target audience in mind though, I still think that it has great insights. There are insights here that are helpful even for "common readers" for lack of a better term.
What I most deeply appreciated about the book were the musings on loneliness and accompaniment because those are topics that I heavily reflect on often. The author of the book recognized that loneliness is a wound so many people have. He also has many other relevant reflections on how people deal with being lonely such as distracting themselves and hoping for a person to come or a time to arrive when their loneliness is completely gone. I find that those observations have become much more resonant now especially the former since so many people have smartphones where they can watch videos or listen to music so that they can numb the sensation that loneliness brings. However, Henri Nouwen also deeply emphasized deep and genuine accompaniment and community in this book because even if loneliness might never be able to go away people can still accompany each other with compassion and understanding.
This took me a longer time to read since it is a short book. I hope that people who would read this book would read it by taking time. The good reflections in the book are really meant to be savored by being reflected upon deeply.
As much as I like the idea of a "wounded healer" and hope others can consider why I find it so appealing, I might actually refrain from recommending this book quickly to others. The reason for that is because the writing and tone of the book really makes it obvious that Father Henri Nouwen had a really specific target audience in mind: Christian clergy and leaders. Most people, and even most Christians, are not clerics or have high positions of religious authority. Despite the book having a specific target audience in mind though, I still think that it has great insights. There are insights here that are helpful even for "common readers" for lack of a better term.
What I most deeply appreciated about the book were the musings on loneliness and accompaniment because those are topics that I heavily reflect on often. The author of the book recognized that loneliness is a wound so many people have. He also has many other relevant reflections on how people deal with being lonely such as distracting themselves and hoping for a person to come or a time to arrive when their loneliness is completely gone. I find that those observations have become much more resonant now especially the former since so many people have smartphones where they can watch videos or listen to music so that they can numb the sensation that loneliness brings. However, Henri Nouwen also deeply emphasized deep and genuine accompaniment and community in this book because even if loneliness might never be able to go away people can still accompany each other with compassion and understanding.
This took me a longer time to read since it is a short book. I hope that people who would read this book would read it by taking time. The good reflections in the book are really meant to be savored by being reflected upon deeply.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 701 reviews