Anam Cara [Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition]: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

John O’Donohue was an Irish poet, priest and philosopher, a proponent of a specific kind of Celtic spirituality which formed the lens through which his philosophy could be seen. His first and best known work is ‘Anam Cara’, published in 1997. ‘Anam cara’ is the Celtic phrase for ‘soul friend’.In a sense, this book is review proof. To anyone who has read my other reviews on fiction and non-fiction this may be seen as a departure. Personal philosophical contemplation of the big issues—life, death, eternity, etc.—are so subjective that to apply the same kind of critical analysis to them that I would apply to a novel misses the meat of the matter and becomes a stab in the air of Intellect. Just as all books are not created alike, so all reviews of those various books should also not be alike.The anam cara can be found in another person although, whether one finds THE anam cara or AN anam cara in another person or not, there is the presence that travels with the individual from birth to death. An individual’s life span, like the seasons, is a cycle. O’Donohue traces the phases of the cycle throughout the book in explorations of solitude, friendship, love and death. These are all big abstract concepts but O’Donohue brings them inside our eyelids with his intimate, poetic language.Donohue’s contemplation of the large themes is as intimate as poetry and as spiritual as any church service and yet this former priest never preaches. His pleasure in the novelties of creation and his meditations on the threshold of conscious and unconscious existence are contagious. He brought to my awareness a few insights that seem obvious except that I never thought to articulate them but here he has presented them to me.Consider what he says about the human face:“The human face carries mystery and is the exposure of the mystery of the individual life. It is where the private, inner world of a person protrudes into the anonymous world. While the rest of the body is covered, the face is naked. The vulnerability of this nakedness issues a profound invitation for understanding and compassion. The human face is a meeting place of two unknowns: the infinity of the outer world and the unchartered, inner world to which each individual alone has access…Your feet bring your private clay in touch with the ancient, mother clay from which you first emerged. Consequently, your face being at the top of your body signifies the ascent of your clay-life into intimacy and selfhood.”He invokes the cyclical view of life repeatedly. It is inherent in the fact that he was born and died a Celt:“The Celtic mind was never drawn to the single line; it avoided ways of seeing and being that seek satisfaction in certainty. The Celtic mind has a wonderful respect for the mystery of the circle and the spiral. The circle is one of the oldest and most powerful symbols. The world is a circle; the sun and moon are too. Even time itself has a circular nature; the day and the year build to a circle. At its most intimate level so is the life of the individual. The circle never gives itself completely to the eye or to the mind but offers a trusting hospitality to that which is complex and mysterious; it embraces depth and height together. The circle never reduces the mystery to a single direction or preference.”Generally, O’Donohue’s imagery and metaphor is fresh and vibrant although he does use a phrase such as ‘neon consciousness’ or ‘neon awareness’ a bit too frequently for my taste. Once was fresh; more than that the impact is diluted. He also quotes people without citation. He will write, “Dostoevsky said…” or “Goethe said” without providing the specific source of the quote. I don’t doubt O’Donohue; I believe in his integrity. I would just like to read the original for myself to see the context in which the quote appeared.Those are relatively minor quibbles. One of O’Donohue’s great achievements is to shed a fresh light on things we either take for granted or have never articulated. He presents them to us in a novel context, which is really what the best writers do for us.The chapter on death is worth the price of the book for me. It provides the wisest, most consoling, most clear-eyed outlook toward death that I have encountered. He describes the Irish mourning tradition in which women keen and provide a sad liturgy, a ritual for externalizing the loss of the departed. This is followed by the wake:“Its ritual affords the soul plenty of time to take its leave. The soul does not leave the body abruptly; this is a slow leave-taking.”He provides a calm reassurance that assuages any fear of dying that touches me more than most anything else I’ve read about death. He died unexpectedly in his sleep in 2008. The cause of death was not disclosed outside the family. Reading his calming words, I could imagine them echoing through his consciousness in his last moments. His cycle was complete.

Pages filled with beautiful words of wisdom! I enjoy it with my morning coffee, randomly pick a page, and it's exactly the words I need to guide my day! A perfect gift to share with others!🦋🌞

One gets the impression that if he wrote the book knowing only 2 or 3 people would ever read it, he would do it with the same passion. And definitely, you cannot enjoy his written works nearly as much as you would, if you buy his audio first. Its almost a sacrilege to not start that way first. The printed word cannot contain the vibration of joy and energy in his voice, his very powerful 5th Chakra, that audio can. I would go so far as to say that just hearing him speak, would put the entire room in a better mood,even if it was in a funeral parlor. Probably the only author... that if he spoke about getting gum on his shoe, I would probably feel the uplifting vibration in his voice and feel better for having listened to it. Why can we not have his work used as study for Statesmen and negotiators, for who could possibly want war with another after hearing John speak. If there is a God, Many John's are getting fine tuned around the world to step forward and share this mans incredibly unique energy. HINT: Get his CD over Audible as you want to be able to lay down in bed or relax on the couch when you drink in his energy, not be stuck in front of a monitor. This book to me would be the perfect start. You can even get both, as some reviewers have said that you feel like its hearing it for the first time if you read it and then listen, or better yet, listen,then read it. One of my favorite parts was on page 147 where John says he developed major insomnia, so bad that he got to the point of no longer resisting it and getting himself to acquiesce that he would always be tired every day of his life.(I wonder why he never tried sleeping meds?) And as soon as he stopped trying to fight the insomnia or even spend any time worrying about it, it vanished. He feels his surrender to what the soul may have needed could be the reason. Wow, 2 lessons in one! I am an Anthony Robbins Interventionist and yet so much of what this wonderful man says fits just right... like a sandwich right between faith and science.