Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What Is Sacred
Poet and self-help-heavy Nepo follows up his previous book of stories and musings, 2011’s As Far as the Heart Can See, with an equally thought-provoking exploration of the art of listening. This is a dense subject, and those familiar with Nepo’s style of writing will be glad that he revisits the familiar format of the short, intense chapter followed by meditation points and questions for reflection. Nepo divides the book into three major sections, “The Work of Being,” “The Work of Being Human,” and “The Work of Love,” each corresponding to a particular type of relationship with the world around us, and thus a different type of listening. These sections, along with further “pauses” between groups of chapters, encourage readers to work their way through the book in whatever sequence they find most interesting. Nepo’s background as a poet shines through in his writing, which can be truly beautiful, if sometimes cumbersome. Given the subject matter though, a little complexity is to be expected and, in this case, enriches the reader’s experience. --Taina Lagodzinski--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.