This one took me a while, but it is definitely a book worth taking your time on. The richness and depth of Celtic spirituality and wisdom as outlined in this book prompted more self reflection than many other Christian books I’ve read. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the circle of life as the Celts saw it. From the soul friend “Anam Cara”, to truly seeing oneself with love and compassion, to the often fearful process of aging and death…. This book walked through the fullness and beauty of each phase and forced me to think deeply about my own life and philosophy. I will be reading this again for sure

A books about Celtic spirituality in modern life, it sometimes gets a bit...mushy in places. Yet I found the last chapter on death very beautiful and moving. One of those books that piques your interest in a lot of different directions.

This book is absolutely beautiful. It's a very easy read - almost a collection of short essays - but the prose flows like poetry.

This is a difficult book for me to review. I've been exploring Christian mysticism for the past two years and have been reading extensively (especially St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, but also some more contemporary authors such as Evelyn Underhill). I picked this one up on recommendation of a Celtic Christianity FaceBook group, and did find several passages that really spoke to me.

While the book opened with the definition of the Anam Cara ("In everyone's life, there is great need for an anam cara, a soul friend. In this love, you are understood as you are without mask or pretension. . . Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious. Where you are understood, you are at home."); it later develops more into the individual journey and path that only we can take (i.e. alone). This bothered me some as I felt a real connection with the idea of Anam Cara and have found myself blessed by such people in my own life. In fact, it seemed that most of the book really focused on how no one can really know you, and the deep interior spiritual life is most critical to understand yourself. While I agree in some ways, I wonder where this leaves the Anam Cara?

Anyway, while I have mixed feelings about the book, I will rate it 5 stars, because there are parts that I did feel a connection to and helped me to understand better some of my own experiences. I'll also keep in mind a piece by James Finley regarding a reading list for Beginners in Christian Mystical Tradition. He states, 'Your heart will tell you which writers are best suited to your needs. As you read, you will find yourself relaxing into insight after insight, reassurance after reassurance. It is not that everything will be clear. But as you continue on in your awakening journey, things that are not clear now will become clear later on. Reading the mystics helps us to appreciate and accept the fact that being perplexed is part of the path. . .' In this way, I would say that St. Teresa truly speaks to me more than John O'Donohue.

Beautiful, wonderful, life-changing.

Inspiring, uplifting, and beautiful. Great for christians and wiccans alike....

This book was very calming for me. It's probably not for everyone, but I found the writing to be beautiful (and not overly preachy or anything like that, though there were some close moments...). Afterwards I definitely felt a deeper understanding of the spiritual viewpoint of the Celts than I had before (Anam Cara = 'Soul Friend').

Quotes:
- "...true vitality is hidden within longing."
- "The body is also very truthful. You know from you own life that your body rarely lies. You mind can deceive you and put all kinds of barriers between you and your nature; but your body does not lie. Your body tells you, if you attend to it, how your life is and whether you are living from your soul or from the labyrinths of your negativity."
- "Some people are having wonderful lives right now, but they do not realize it. Maybe later on, when things become really difficult or desperate, a person will look back on these times and say, "You know, I was really happy then but sadly I never realized it."