Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 18:14:17
In reply to fallen angels, posted by laural on October 19, 2000, at 18:03:36
Thought this book might interest you---it is an exploration of some of the issues you raise, and it also uses the biblical creation story , as you do, to explore this.
here is the blurb that Dr. bob put on his "read" page:
Making Loss Matter : Creating Meaning in Difficult Times
by David J. Wolpe, Mitch Albom
Recommended by noa:
I just read a book, that I have somewhat mixed feelings about, but it was interesting, so I will pass the info on. It is written by a Rabbi, and draws a lot on traditional Jewish sources (Biblical characters, ancient rabbinic stories, and Hasidic stories), but it is quite universal in its approach. It is not unlike Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People in its intents, but is written in a very different style. Wolpe writes beautifully, but where Kushner writes in a more straightforward manner, Wolpe's prose has a distinctly spiritual/poetic flair. Sometimes, I found his psychological analysis of Biblical stories unsatisfying, simply because his poetic flair seems at times to add to a sort of looseness in how he explains what he is able to draw from the stories. But I was never bored, and it was not repetitive in the way that the typical inspirational/self-help book is. One of the main points of the book relates to letting go of the idea of going back to the way it was or should have been, that we all long for when struggling to cope with life's difficulties. It was also interesting that his treatment of the concept of loss covers "real" and tangible losses, as well as psychological losses. In addition to drawing upon traditional sources, Wolpe shares his pastoral counseling experiences (sometimes these fall into the trap of seem a bit too slick, the way many authors relate their "magically" successful case examples), as well as some of his personal struggles.
poster:noa
thread:46748
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001012/msgs/46798.html