Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation cover image

by Parker J. Palmer
September 1999, Hardcover

Press Room

“Palmer shares the lessons of his vocational and spiritual journey, discussing his own burnout and intense depression with exceptional candor and clarity. In essays that previously appeared in spiritual or educational journals and have been reworked to fit into this slim volume, he suggests that individuals are most authentic when they follow their natural talents and limitations, as his own story demonstrates.” — Publishers Weekly

“Parker Palmer’s writing is like a high country stream – clear, vital, honest. If your life seems to be passing you by, or you cannot see the way ahead, immerse yourself in the wisdom of these pages and allow it to carry you toward a more attentive relationship with your deeper, truer self.” — John S. Mogabgab, editor, Weavings Journal

“An incredibly timely call for many of us roiling in the midst of this current economic conundrum. Perhaps, times like these can be times we choose to listen -- let our lives speak -- hear what our souls are saying -- and move that way.” — Bill Dahl, editor, ThePorpoiseDivingLife .com

“Here is a book that I wish I had read twenty years ago on that perennial Christian conundrum faced by so many: what is God's will for me in my vocational life?” — Daniel B. Clendenin, editor, [JourneyWithJesus.net]

“Let Your Life Speak is the best book available to anyone asking serious questions about vocation. Palmer has many profound things to say about the deep calling of authentic selfhood, burnout, embracing mystery, the power of true presence, the soul’s truths, the inner issues inherent in leadership, the spiritual journey inward and downward, and the different seasons of life.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, founders, [SpiritualityandPractice.com]

Acclaimed author Parker J. Palmer reveals the same compassionate intelligence that shaped his best-selling books A Hidden Wholeness and The Courage to Teach in Let Your Life Speak: Listening to the Voice of Vocation. With both power and wit, he identifies our yearning to live undivided lives—lives that are congruent with our inner truth – in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. For over a decade, the principle and practices in this book have inspired people from all walks – parents and educators, clergy and politicians, community organizers and corporate executives, students and seekers, and many others who seek to listen to the voice of vocation.

As Palmer's many readers know, his writing has always been grounded in his own life experience; here he speaks even more vulnerably of his own times of being lost in the dark, as well as moments of “stumbling into the light,” in his own quest for vocation. Though the details of his journey are singular, he draws from it that which is universal. The result is a moving and illuminating book for anyone who seeks not just a job but a calling – and companionship along the way. Let Your Life Speak weaves together themes Palmer has pursued for over forty years with a depth of insight that will touch anyone who yearns for an authentic way of standing and serving in the world.

Click here to download and read a sample chapter from Let Your Life Speak.

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