The Noonday Demon
A Modern Woman’s Struggle With Soul-Weariness
by Kathleen Norris
GoodBookStall Review:
Much like Kathleen Norris' book Cloister Walk this is a personal journey through her life experience and as with the previous one she writes with an honesty and truth that is compelling. This time though the subject matter is much more subjective in that it is her dealing with her own issues of 'soul weariness' or acedia as it was known to the early church and monastic orders; in modern days we would perhaps term it depression or a form of stress. Due to the subject matter and the issue it is a book that looks at the heart of a serious issue and tries to offer some solace from the fact that this is an ages old problem that can be overcome with fortitude and in some ways the stubbornness of faith to work through. In the end it offers no blinding solutions but it does offer a small measure of comfort and a new way of looking at things, that is in truth a very old way of looking at things. Worth the read for anyone feeling the tiredness and sheer lack of energy or want that living in the modern world can often bring on.
Reviewer: Melanie Carroll (22/02/10)
Much like Kathleen Norris' book Cloister Walk this is a personal journey through her life experience and as with the previous one she writes with an honesty and truth that is compelling. This time though the subject matter is much more subjective in that it is her dealing with her own issues of 'soul weariness' or acedia as it was known to the early church and monastic orders; in modern days we would perhaps term it depression or a form of stress. Due to the subject matter and the issue it is a book that looks at the heart of a serious issue and tries to offer some solace from the fact that this is an ages old problem that can be overcome with fortitude and in some ways the stubbornness of faith to work through. In the end it offers no blinding solutions but it does offer a small measure of comfort and a new way of looking at things, that is in truth a very old way of looking at things. Worth the read for anyone feeling the tiredness and sheer lack of energy or want that living in the modern world can often bring on.
Reviewer: Melanie Carroll (22/02/10)
