Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation | 
 enlarge | Author: Parker J. Palmer
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
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Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 1782
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0787947350
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4
UPC: 723812453320
EAN: 9780787947354
ASIN: 0787947350
Publication Date: September 10, 1999
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Amazon.com
The old Quaker adage, "Let your life speak," spoke to author Parker J. Palmer when he was in his early 30s. It summoned him to a higher purpose, so he decided that henceforth he would live a nobler life. "I lined up the most elevated ideals I could find and set out to achieve them," he writes. "The results were rarely admirable, often laughable, and sometimes grotesque.... I had simply found a 'noble' way of living a life that was not my own, a life spent imitating heroes instead of listening to my heart." Thirty years later, Palmer now understands that learning to let his life speak means "living the life that wants to live in me." It involves creating the kind of quiet, trusting conditions that allow a soul to speak its truth. It also means tuning out the noisy preconceived ideas about what a vocation should and shouldn't be so that we can better hear the call of our wild souls. There are no how-to formulas in this extremely unpretentious and well-written book, just fireside wisdom from an elder who is willing to share his mistakes and stories as he learned to live a life worth speaking about. --Gail Hudson
Product Description
With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 47 more reviews...
 Priceless wisdom... August 12, 2008
Books make great gifts. This is the one I give most often. I love Palmer's writing style and his message. As with his other books, Let Your Life Speak is well-organized and the concepts well developed.
In this era, in this culture, there are countless forces that urge us to ask the wrong question-- What should I do with my life? That question and related ones are evidence of the distorting, external pressures (oughts) that surround us. A more organic approach is, in Palmer's words, "Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you."
"Vocation," or calling, is a birthright gift to be received, not a goal to be achieved. Enabling its receipt requires that we listen to the voice inside each of us. True identity results from listening well, with effective service the extension of that knowledge.
The search for true self must not end with one's gifts. The journey into darkness, one's shadow, must be undertaken to complete the quest for authentic self. Those that befriend what they discover become whole and are least likely to project onto others. Finding one's vocation benefits everyone.
Palmer rightfully connects authenticity with social movements. Having found and united with other authentic individuals, those in a movement "refuse to sit at the back of the bus." The perturbed system yields to the logic of the movement, with many benefiting from the shift. The individual path toward true self not only rewards the pilgrim, its positive effects radiate in every-widening circles to even influence nation states.
I highly recommend this wisdom-filled book.
--Jack H. Bender, author of Disregarded: Transforming the School and Workplace through Deep Respect and Courage
A fantastic book July 21, 2008
A fantastic book!
This book has been my default purchase for people that are going through tough times, or people that are at a point of change in their lives (or should be). It is free of the "you-can-do-it-all" fluffiness. It brings a real, truthful and deep approach to life.
This is the kind of book that you not only read the words, but the spaces between the words. Great, great stuff. One of my all-time favorites.
Let Your Life Speak June 25, 2008
A wonderful little book, and easy to read. This reflective little book looks into what "God's will" means in a practical modern life through a personal exploration of the author's own life. If you are looking for an insightful meditation on vocation and work, you will very much enjoy this book!
a once in a lifetime read June 8, 2008
This book is life-changing. It is a small book packed with concentrated wisdom. Anyone who is looking to understand who they are and how they fit in this world, will benefit greatly from spending the time to give this one a read.
My thoughts on Let Your Life Speak May 9, 2008
This book has made me think about a lot of what is going on in my life. It is making me question many things. This was recommended to me by my spiritual director. I am glad he did recommend this book.
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