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nickjonesreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
There were some parts of this book that I found to be great and other parts that I'm not really sure what my thoughts are. I will probably reread this one at some point to figure it out.
plan2read's review against another edition
4.0
From loneliness to solitude: "Friendship and love cannot develop in the form of an anxious clinging to each other. They ask for gentle fearless space in which we can move to and from each other. . . . When we live with a solitude of heart, we can listen with attention to the words and the worlds of others, but when we are driven by loneliness, we tend to select just those remarks and events that bring immediate satisfaction to our own craving needs."
From hostility to hospitality: "When hostility is converted into hospitality then fearful strangers can become guests revealing to their hosts the promise they are carrying with them. . . . Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
From illusion to prayer: "So, the paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. . . . This paradox of prayer forces us to look beyond the limits of our mortal existence. . . . The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many 'safe' gods to the God whose love has no limits."
From hostility to hospitality: "When hostility is converted into hospitality then fearful strangers can become guests revealing to their hosts the promise they are carrying with them. . . . Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
From illusion to prayer: "So, the paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. . . . This paradox of prayer forces us to look beyond the limits of our mortal existence. . . . The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many 'safe' gods to the God whose love has no limits."
torydoughty's review against another edition
5.0
I hardly have adequate words to describe this book, but it’s a beautiful tribute to the spiritual disciplines of solitude, hospitality, and prayer. Nouwen always delivers a humble, rich, love-soaked perspective that I appreciate every time. He describes in the third part the benefit of finding a few “really great saints” whose words encourage us, and Nouwen himself has definitely become one of those voices in my spiritual life.
c_serpent's review against another edition
5.0
Five stars for the fact I read this with a black pen in my hand, finished it, and immediately picked up a blue pen to mark different things on my second turn.
elundhansen's review against another edition
4.0
While "Reaching Out" does not perhaps reach the level of profundity of "Life of the Beloved" or "Return of the Prodigal Son," it is still a thoughtful and lovely little book for Nouwen fans like myself. I picked it up from the library's "free" shelf ages ago, and I'm very glad I gave it a go.