In her debut collection of verse, Coleman investigates reasons for prayer.
There are a number of self-help and Christian inspiration books that look at prayer, but Coleman’s take presents a unique concept that stands apart. Instead of offering a listing of prayers or a “how-to” approach, the author asks readers to pray for people they don’t know and may never meet, with a poetic compilation of people worthy of readers’ sentiments. The idea came to the author soon after September 11, 2001; Coleman, who lost several friends and acquaintances that day, turned her thoughts to the many survivors and the depth of their suffering. Praying for strangers led her to a greater sense of interconnection with humanity, and she felt a distinct calling to care for people through prayer. Her short, poemlike descriptions of this wide range of people in need of prayer will evoke readers’ sense of compassion and justice: “A single dad with a family of daughters needs a prayer today. / He is trying his best but sometimes he is overwhelmed.” A variety of worthy subjects—victims of Agent Orange, hospice workers, struggling teenagers, girls sold into the sex trade, recovering alcoholics—all find a page in Coleman’s book. The author, who divides the book into chapters that provide a basic order to the collection, shrugs off convention and urges readers to use this volume however they feel most comfortable: “If you find a page in the book that resonates with you and you want to remain for a few days on that page, do so.” Non-Catholics may not immediately recognize the concept of the book from its title—the term “intention” in relation to prayer is an almost exclusively Roman Catholic usage—but this book will find a wide audience among devout readers. An unusual yet inspiring take on prayer.
Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-1449725969
Page Count: 244
Publisher: WestBow/Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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