Holy Intimacy of Strangers - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sarah York is an ordained minister (M.Div., Harvard Divinity School) and author of Pilgrim Heart: The Inner Journey Home and Remembering Well: Rituals for Celebrating Life and Mourning Death both from Jossey-Bass Publishers.

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What Do Our Encounters with Strangers Teach Us About Ourselves-and Our Connection with Others

"Fear of the stranger is far too common among us-and since September 11th, our fear has only deepened. But in a world rich in human diversity, much depends on understanding how our encounters with 'otherness' can enlarge and renew our lives. Sarah York's superb book opens door after door to that understanding. The Holy Intimacy of Strangers is not only timely but deeply soul-searching and wonderfully well-written. If we are willing to live into its insights, we will feel more at home on earth and help make earth home for others.
Parker J. Palmer, author, Let Your Life Speak and The Courage to Teach

"In our market driven atomistic age, we are often thrown on the kindness of strangers. In this wise and poignant book, Sarah York shows us how to imbue these relationships with trust-and, yes, love."
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author, Creating a Life and chair, National Parenting Association

"The Intimacy of Strangers is a gift to the soul. In an often distracted, coarse, and fear-full culture, Sarah York awakens us to everyday moments of trust, connection, and care-and our capacity to choose what kind of 'strangers' we want to be. This book will unlock your imagination and open your heart."
Sharon Daloz Parks, coauthor, Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World and author, Big Questions, Worthy Dreams

Aus dem Klappentext

How is it that we can sometimes reveal our innermost secrets to a stranger sitting next to us on an airplane yet find it difficult to be as open with our close friends?

In The Holy Intimacy of Strangers Sarah York explores our common yearning for deeper and more meaningful connection with one another. The book presents the paradox we often observe: how our seemingly casual interactions with strangers can unlock the door to our hearts and help us discover how we need (and yet often resist) true intimacy in our relationships.

This provocative book gives us a new way to look at the qualities of our exchanges with strangers. Once we begin this journey we can trace the outlines of our lives together in community-our expressions of caring and hospitality, the costs of prejudice and judgment, our fears and defensiveness, the tension between being inclusive or exclusive, our expectations and assumptions about one another.

The Holy Intimacy of Strangers is filled with stories-from a heartwarming encounter with a family on a picnic in the park to being captive in an elevator with unpleasant fellow passengers¾that illuminate the presence and meaning of strangers in our lives. The greatest spiritual gift we will receive from this book will be the one we give ourselves¾of deepening compassion for ourselves and others as we gain a sense of our own power to make the world a gentler, more generous place.