The Barn at the End of the World
The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"About the subtlest, most sane-making book on contemporary spirituality that I've read in years. It's also the funniest."—Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope
Deciding that her life was insufficiently grounded in real-world experience, Mary Rose O'Reilley, a Quaker reared as a Catholic, embarked on a year of tending sheep. In this decidedly down-to-earth, often-hilarious book, O'Reilley describes her work in an agricultural barn and her extended visit to a Buddhist monastery in France, where she studied with Thich Nhat Hanh. She seeks, in both barn and monastery, a spirituality based not in "climbing out of the body" but rather in existing fully in the world.
"O'Reilley has obviously mastered the craft of writing. Her rich, allusive prose draws on Catholicism, Quakerism, Buddhism, monastic tradition, Shakespeare and the Bible. Her short vignettes are luminous with faith matters, yet full of the earthy details of animal husbandry, resulting in a style that's a cross between Kathleen Norris and James Herriot."—Publishers Weekly
"This enjoyable book offers lingering pleasure."—Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Quakers, a Christian sect that arose in 17th-century England, are known for their pacifism, egalitarianism and reliance on the "inner light" for guidance. Depending on what branch they belong to, Quakers may give the inner sense of guidance more authority than written Scripture, which explains why a modern Quaker like O'Reilley can adopt Buddhism as her faith and still remain a Quaker. O'Reilley, professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., and author of The Peaceable Classroom and Radical Presence, tells the story of her decision to tend sheep and describes the spiritual ramifications of that experience. Anyone who is looking for a religious instruction book will not find it here: O'Reilley's writing is narrative, not didactic. She simply tells more or less connected short stories about her sheep-tending and concurrent religious explorations. Whatever one thinks of her philosophy, O'Reilley has obviously mastered the craft of writing. Her rich, allusive prose draws on Catholicism, Quakerism, Buddhism, monastic tradition, Shakespeare and the Bible. Her short vignettes are luminous with faith matters, yet full of the earthy details of animal husbandry, resulting in a style that's a cross between Kathleen Norris and James Herriot. The only caveat is that any readers who are squeamish about the messy details of barnyard life may find O'Reilley's descriptions of her farm work too realistic for their stomachs.
