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Acedia And Me (2008)

by Kathleen Norris(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0641981821 (ISBN13: 9780641981821)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Penguin Group (USA)

review 1: A stunning book. I've not read any of her others. Norris distinguishes between depression (a disease) & acedia (despair, indifference). She recognizes the similarities, emphasizes the need to treat the disease, & most wonderfully, develops strategies to diagnose, cope with, & overcome recurrent acedia, which is the burden she bears. Drawing from the Bible, the writings of long-ago & modern monks, literature, & her life experience, she illustrates & ponders, proposes. I read the book slowly, copied many bits, & feel the need to read it again, more slowly, more thoughtfully, for the help it holds.
review 2: This book was largely memoir on a writer's life, lots of history ofthe desert fathers (monks in 4th century who were the first to follow such an isolated life... more), background on acedia, and lots of short biographies of people throughout history who have experienced acedia.First, acedia is not depression but spiritual sloth, being unable to care. The desert monks considered it a 'demon' because it usually struck during the heat of the day when the monk was hungry and fatigued and susceptible to the suggestion that his commitment to a life of prayer was not worth the effort. By the late 19th century, psychiatrists defined acedia as "a mental condition of sadness, mental confusion and apathy, bitterness of spirit, and utter despair." What today we would call 'issues,' the early monks called 'demons.' Acedia is still a given of monastic life, whereas depression is not. One example of acedia in literature is "The Parson's Tale" by Chaucer where he gives an description of how acedia starts in mere laziness and develops into full-fledged despondency. The book had lots of new, interesting information on a subject I'd never heard of before. less

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