My Early Years - Adrienne von Speyr

by Adrienne von Speyr

The contemporary mystic and physician von Speyr gives an account of her early years which reveals her extraordinarily rich and integral personality. Written at the request of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the 50 year old von Speyr reflects on the significant events of her younger years, including some of her mystical experiences, which shaped the two key elements of her her unshakable resolve to become a doctor against incredible obstacles in order to help others, and her unquenchable longing to belong completely to God. Written in an upbeat and lively manner, this is an authentic first hand picture that reveals the boundless spirit and deeply sensitive soul of an extraordinary woman who was completely dedicated to her patients and yet lived (and wrote much about) a deeply mystical life.

427 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Adrienne von Speyr was a Swiss medical doctor and the author of over 60 books on spirituality and theology.

Von Speyr was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Her father, Theodor von Speyr, was an ophthalmologist. Her mother, Laure Girard, was the descendant of a family of noted watchmakers and jewelers from Geneva and Neuenburg. Speyr was her parents' second child.

Speyr's mother scolded her daily and this led her to form a strong trust and devotion to God, as well as a recognition of the meaning of sacrifice and renunciation. She formed a deep relationship with her grandmother, a holy and pious woman. She also had a devotion to her father, who treated her with mutual respect and understanding, often taking her with him to the hospital to visit sick children. In her primary school years she began working with the poor and even formed a society with her friends for those living in poverty.

Speyr became a Roman Catholic on 1 November 1940, the Feast of All Saints, when she was 38, under the spiritual direction of the prominent priest and theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar.

She is considered by many to have been a mystic and is reputed to have had mystical experiences of the Trinity and the saints.

While in a state of contemplative, mystical prayer, she dictated to Balthasar over 60 books, including commentaries on the Bible and various theological topics. With Balthasar she co-founded a secular institute, the Johannesgemeinschaft (Community of St. John). Her reputed mystical experiences grew in frequency until her death in Basel, Switzerland, on 17 September 1967.