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THE SACRED JOURNEY
"A child takes life as it comes because he has no other way of taking it," Frederick Buechner writes in this first of his autobiographical books. With this statement he attempts to explore the event that is at the center of this book, and which forms the (missing) center around which so much of Buechner's fiction and essays take shape: the suicide of his father when he was 10 and his brother 8.
As with much of Buechner's work, there is a movement in this narrative from suffering to grace, a grace that comes in unexpected ways and places. Here it comes through the preacher George Buttrick on a Sunday sermon: Jesus refused Satan's crown, Buttrick said, but "he is crowned in the heart of the people who believe in him. And that inward coronation takes place ... 'among confession, and tears, and great laughter.'" It was when he heard this final statement, Buechner writes, that something turned over for him, and led him to speak to Buttrick and ultimately led him--driven literally by Buttrick--to Union Theological Seminary. Here in this beautiful book this soul-changing journey across Manhattan stands for "the sacred journey" of a life--and of all of our lives. Whether it ends in truth or dream we cannot know, but Buechner sides with King Rinkitink of Oz who says, "Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders." --Doug Thorpe
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Frederick Buechner
60 books1,265 followersFrederick Buechner is a highly influential writer and theologian who has won awards for his poetry, short stories, novels and theological writings. His work pioneered the genre of spiritual memoir, laying the groundwork for writers such as Anne Lamott, Rob Bell and Lauren Winner.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
August 30, 2019
I've finished my first Buechner, a birthday gift from a friend, and what a gift (both the words and the friend). Just after receiving The Sacred Journey, I heard a podcast guest on What Should I Read Next list this author as one of her all-time favorites. And just this week, after reading a large portion of the middle section of this lovely memoir, I heard another work of Buechner's (Whistling in the Dark) quoted on two different episodes of The Next Right Thing podcast.
I understand the attention.
This book is a telling, in three parts, of Buechner's life as he comes to faith in Christ. I was drawn in completely with the titles of these three sections: Once Below a Time, Once Upon a Time, and Beyond Time. Buechner's descriptive abilities are filled with such detail and honesty that as I think of this book and as I will certainly continue to think of it, the memories he wrote about will seem like my own, so much did he draw the scenes for me. I'm off now to get my hands on one of the many books I get to discover in this has-to-be rich backlist.
I understand the attention.
This book is a telling, in three parts, of Buechner's life as he comes to faith in Christ. I was drawn in completely with the titles of these three sections: Once Below a Time, Once Upon a Time, and Beyond Time. Buechner's descriptive abilities are filled with such detail and honesty that as I think of this book and as I will certainly continue to think of it, the memories he wrote about will seem like my own, so much did he draw the scenes for me. I'm off now to get my hands on one of the many books I get to discover in this has-to-be rich backlist.
July 30, 2011
This was insightful, uncommonly honest, and beautiful. I couldn't put the book down, but had to, twice, before finishing the mere 112 pages (3 chapters called "Once Below a Time, Once Upon a Time, and Beyond Time").
I will not share any of the story, so as not to ruin any of it for future readers; however, if you long to journey well, you will be encouraged by this autobiographical work which has at its core, an interest in helping others to know faith, hope and love in this lost world.
I can't say it better than a review from Christian Century, "Reveals the ultimate goodness of things ... A book filled with wonders."
I will not share any of the story, so as not to ruin any of it for future readers; however, if you long to journey well, you will be encouraged by this autobiographical work which has at its core, an interest in helping others to know faith, hope and love in this lost world.
I can't say it better than a review from Christian Century, "Reveals the ultimate goodness of things ... A book filled with wonders."
March 30, 2012
In the introduction to this memoir, Buechner says that he has determined “to try to describe my own life…in the hope that such glimmers of theological truth as I believed I had glimpsed in it would shine through…” because “if God speaks to us at all in this world…it is into our personal lives that he speaks.”
Rather than attempting to reconstruct a perfectly linear narrative of his early life, the author shares word-snapshots, pictures of particular people and places and days, some of which were clearly momentous at the time, but more of which he realized only later as being significant milestones or turning points. He recounts, with candor, humor and the clarity of hindsight, events which shaped him and directed his journey through childhood to young adulthood; and in so doing, shares his particular perspective on many of the rites of passage common to us all.
Reading these pages is, indeed, as Buechner puts it, “like looking through someone else’s photograph album…somewhere among all those shots of people you never knew and places you never saw, you may come across something or someone you recognize…may even catch a glimpse of yourself.”
Rather than attempting to reconstruct a perfectly linear narrative of his early life, the author shares word-snapshots, pictures of particular people and places and days, some of which were clearly momentous at the time, but more of which he realized only later as being significant milestones or turning points. He recounts, with candor, humor and the clarity of hindsight, events which shaped him and directed his journey through childhood to young adulthood; and in so doing, shares his particular perspective on many of the rites of passage common to us all.
Reading these pages is, indeed, as Buechner puts it, “like looking through someone else’s photograph album…somewhere among all those shots of people you never knew and places you never saw, you may come across something or someone you recognize…may even catch a glimpse of yourself.”
January 23, 2018
This is the most thought-provoking and encouraging book I have read in quite some time. What a writer. So many of the experiences (mostly "ah ha" moments, really) that Buechner shares resonate with my soul. I marked so many pages. I must read more of Frederick Buechner's writing.
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July 10, 2025A book for whom the star system doesn't fit particularly well. It's a very good book, and one's reading experience of it could easily range from four to five stars.
Buechner seems to me to be doing what Augustine did in the Confessions: writing autobiography in order to show just how God works and doesn't work in the plots of the lives of everyone. The point is not Buechner's life, but God's work. But Buechner's life is pretty important, too.
It's short, and quiet. It's been a long time since I read a new book of his. The voice is clear and so distinctive. I've missed it. I imagine the brevity shows some restraint. I imagine he's choosing to write about the stuff that seems important to Christ, and less about the stuff that seems important to just him.
Buechner is the patron saint of "listening to your life." Here he shows us how to do it.
My used copy arrived with two slips of paper tucked in: a Christmas bookmark ("Behold, I bring you tidings of Great Joy, which shall be to all People") and a recipe from Publix for Sirloin Steak with Blue Cheese Butter.
Buechner seems to me to be doing what Augustine did in the Confessions: writing autobiography in order to show just how God works and doesn't work in the plots of the lives of everyone. The point is not Buechner's life, but God's work. But Buechner's life is pretty important, too.
It's short, and quiet. It's been a long time since I read a new book of his. The voice is clear and so distinctive. I've missed it. I imagine the brevity shows some restraint. I imagine he's choosing to write about the stuff that seems important to Christ, and less about the stuff that seems important to just him.
Buechner is the patron saint of "listening to your life." Here he shows us how to do it.
My used copy arrived with two slips of paper tucked in: a Christmas bookmark ("Behold, I bring you tidings of Great Joy, which shall be to all People") and a recipe from Publix for Sirloin Steak with Blue Cheese Butter.
December 10, 2022
Frederick Buechner, noted theologian, was a gifted writer before he entered seminary at 27 years. I had an opportunity to see Buechner in the past but didn't take advantage of it having never read any of his works. After reading this book, I regret that I missed out.
This short memoir is actually a spiritual autobiography of Buechner's early years. He divides the first quarter of his life into three chapters: Once Below a Time, Once Upon a Time, and Beyond Time. The first chapter is the innocence of childhood when time lacks true meaning and seems to be endless. For Buechner, his early childhood ended and time kicked in when he discovered his father dead from suicide in their driveway. The second chapter is a reflection of his childhood after his father's death until he finds his purpose in life at age 16, which was to be a writer. The final chapter, Beyond Time, is his thoughts on those events in his life when realized that God burst through beyond time to nudge the events of his life. Of course, he realized this only in retrospect.
Although this is a memoir, Buechner's writing is entrancing. It is his life; however, the reader can't help but find emotional connections with the events of his life.
This short memoir is actually a spiritual autobiography of Buechner's early years. He divides the first quarter of his life into three chapters: Once Below a Time, Once Upon a Time, and Beyond Time. The first chapter is the innocence of childhood when time lacks true meaning and seems to be endless. For Buechner, his early childhood ended and time kicked in when he discovered his father dead from suicide in their driveway. The second chapter is a reflection of his childhood after his father's death until he finds his purpose in life at age 16, which was to be a writer. The final chapter, Beyond Time, is his thoughts on those events in his life when realized that God burst through beyond time to nudge the events of his life. Of course, he realized this only in retrospect.
Although this is a memoir, Buechner's writing is entrancing. It is his life; however, the reader can't help but find emotional connections with the events of his life.
March 16, 2019
It's been a while since I stayed up through the night to complete a book. The Sacred Journey was the perfect one for me to read during this time of "lenten lack" as I guess you could call it—no TV, no YouTube, none of the usual stuff I use to distract myself. It forces me to confront the quiet; but Buechner has a better phrase: he endorses the regular exercise of listening to your life.
He gives us just a handful of pages and all are beautifully expressed—it's Buechner after all—and yes, it's memoir-ish. More than anything it's about his slow climb into Christ's arms. I guess I wasn't expecting that (even though I should have), and came away encouraged by it.
I appreciate how he pulls all the audio clips from his early life together;
how he doesn't try to justify the odd, tiny moments that were significant to him. We know why they were significant: They calcified a belief and relationship with Christ he danced around for 27 years, a turning point so important he sets it as the last thought the book—coupled with a poetic turn of phrase, though, because he can't help himself.
I loved that.
He gives us just a handful of pages and all are beautifully expressed—it's Buechner after all—and yes, it's memoir-ish. More than anything it's about his slow climb into Christ's arms. I guess I wasn't expecting that (even though I should have), and came away encouraged by it.
I appreciate how he pulls all the audio clips from his early life together;
how he doesn't try to justify the odd, tiny moments that were significant to him. We know why they were significant: They calcified a belief and relationship with Christ he danced around for 27 years, a turning point so important he sets it as the last thought the book—coupled with a poetic turn of phrase, though, because he can't help himself.
I loved that.
January 3, 2024
How is it that I’m three days into the new year and have already read what I’m sure is going to be one of my favourite reads of the year? This book is astonishingly good; tender, yet filled with remarkable insights. There are phrases, sentences, and paragraphs here which put into words truths of my own life. I’m eager to read his other two memoirs.
March 28, 2021
No words can describe his writing that stirs memories and echoes in my soul I did not know were there. This book is a gift.
April 6, 2026
A beautiful spiritual work, which acknowledges that God speaking to us in our lives is a mystery and comes from a place we cannot understand, and yet that we can embrace a that “music” in our lives when we hear it.
March 30, 2026
“You can survive on your own; you can grow strong on your own; you can prevail on your own; but you cannot become human on your own.”
There are books that inform you and books that help form you. This book is in the latter category.
There are books that inform you and books that help form you. This book is in the latter category.
October 23, 2024
Buechner is stunning. His mastery over words is as moving as it is beautiful.
December 27, 2025
I started this during the summer and put it down and didn’t come back to it for a while.
I really enjoyed getting to read more about this author that I enjoy and who made him who he is. It was also really interesting to hear the perspective of someone who lived through the world wars and how that affected his relationships.
Many beautiful ideas and turns of phrases! Would recommend
I really enjoyed getting to read more about this author that I enjoy and who made him who he is. It was also really interesting to hear the perspective of someone who lived through the world wars and how that affected his relationships.
Many beautiful ideas and turns of phrases! Would recommend
June 30, 2018
I was given this book by my brother-in-law, who has me figured out well. This is a beautiful memoir and does truly tell, not one man's story, but the story of many.
Buechner's descriptions are sensual and rich. They draw vivid lines and yet feel like dreams. I'm so glad I finally got into this book. I started it on a reading-adventure-day in the sun with a friend. And so I will, gratefully, be able to tie it in my memory to both people in my life.
One powerful selection that rung me on self reflection and understanding: "But to lose track of those depths to the extent that I was inclined to--to lose track of the deep needs beyond our own needs and those of our closest friends; to lose track of the deep mystery beyond or at the heart of the mystery of our separate selves--is to lose track also of what our journey is a journey toward and of the sacredness and high adventure of our journey."
Buechner's descriptions are sensual and rich. They draw vivid lines and yet feel like dreams. I'm so glad I finally got into this book. I started it on a reading-adventure-day in the sun with a friend. And so I will, gratefully, be able to tie it in my memory to both people in my life.
One powerful selection that rung me on self reflection and understanding: "But to lose track of those depths to the extent that I was inclined to--to lose track of the deep needs beyond our own needs and those of our closest friends; to lose track of the deep mystery beyond or at the heart of the mystery of our separate selves--is to lose track also of what our journey is a journey toward and of the sacredness and high adventure of our journey."
June 11, 2022
First of all, this memoir was very well written. Its descriptions were spot on with reality. Buechner certainly has great talent with words. He writes about his life from the age of childhood up to young adulthood and highlights the moments that both broke him and refined him. Buechner takes an honest look at the depravity of his own heart and his need for Christ. He also talks about the issue of suicide in a very real way, which I greatly appreciated.
The one thing I will say about this book and the reason I gave it only three stars is that the author takes his readers all over the place and tends to ramble on with different thoughts. There is not much structure to the book and I often found myself feeling confused as Buechner jumped from one thought to another.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and it prompted me to slow down and think deeply about the seemingly mundane but beautiful moments in life.
The one thing I will say about this book and the reason I gave it only three stars is that the author takes his readers all over the place and tends to ramble on with different thoughts. There is not much structure to the book and I often found myself feeling confused as Buechner jumped from one thought to another.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and it prompted me to slow down and think deeply about the seemingly mundane but beautiful moments in life.
October 24, 2016
I've known for a while, originally secondhand and then with each of his books that I've read for myself, that Buechner is a great and profound author. This book is the one where I first realised that I love him as an author.
From an academic standpoint, this is theology through autobiography. And in his command of the tools of writing, it is both beautiful and revelatory.
From an academic standpoint, this is theology through autobiography. And in his command of the tools of writing, it is both beautiful and revelatory.
September 9, 2022
I'm a bit embarrassed that, 25 years into writing and teaching spiritual memoir (and having written a book called WRITING THE SACRED JOURNEY) I finally got around to reading Buechner's THE SACRED JOURNEY. For some reason I've been put off by the ardent devotion of Buechner fans. But I thoroughly enjoyed this little memoir. Buechner's prose unfolds with rhythm and grace. He drops nuggets of insight in the midst of stories and always uplifts the ordinary as the arena of divine unfolding. "We must learn to listen to the cock-crows and hammering and tick-tock of our lives for the holy and elusive word that is spoken to us out of their depths."
March 3, 2026
I relate so much with the inner life of Frederick Buechner that I wonder why it took me so long to read his books. He’s a realist-bordering-on-pessimist at heart whom God found and made a saint.
I’m looking forward to reading more!
I’m looking forward to reading more!
February 24, 2023
Wow.
Buechner is the best.
Buechner is the best.
May 21, 2025
The author is a beautiful writer and lover of words, which was a highlight of this book for me.
August 2, 2023
A re read on the plane yesterday. It has Christian undertones, BUT it is a wonderful read. This book is one I think I could read 1000 times and find something new in with each re read.
May 22, 2011
The Sacred Journey is memoir, poetry and philosophy in one slim novel and I loved it! Buechner’s book is messy- somewhat disjointed feeling, and yet beautiful and touching. The seeming unorganized stories come together much like real life does… where big moments hardly matter and the small, seemingly unimportant, conversations can change everything. Buechner tries, and I think succeeds, in using his own life (filled with very real pain- like his Father’s suicide) to show the humanity and great journey we all have in common. His spirituality is not overbearing, it is honest and real, while at the same time rooted and sound. I found myself extremely encouraged in my own journey of faith because of this book.
At first, I was a little put off by his over-thought and extreme poetic style of writing. I felt like he was wasting words and beating around the bush until, almost as if he read my thoughts he says “…I started to sense that words not only convey something, but are something; that words have color, depth, texture of their own, and the power to evoke vastly more than they mean; that words can be used not merely to make things clear, make things vivid, make things interesting and whatever else, but to make things happen inside the one who reads them or hears them.” (P. 68) and then it sort of clicked for me. This memoir isn’t simply a retelling of his major life moments, it is actually an attempt to explain and paint humanity and the vast array of feelings and emotions that entails. After reading that quote, I sort of relaxed and sat back to enjoy the ride and let the book just take me wherever he was going.
One thing that is amazing to me is how optimistic Buechner is, despite the harshness of his life and his emotionally under-developed family. I found this paragraph particularly beautiful: “To do for yourself the best that you have in you to do -To grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst- is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own.” (P. 46)
Adding these quotes to my review do not spoil this book, as I could never convey the art that is found here by chopping out little portions, and I could copy down a number of other amazing paragraphs, but I will leave that up to the individual to read- or borrow my underlined copy, but I do want to end with the message that Buechner himself ended with. After becoming a Christian and later deciding to attend seminary he says: “It was a long way to go, and there is no question but that there is a vastly longer way to go still, for all of us, before we are done. And the way we have to go is full of perils, both from without and from within, and who can say for sure what we will find at the end of our journeys, or if, when that time comes, it will prove to be anything more than such a beautiful dream… Faith. Hope. Love-- As words so worn out, but as realities so rich. Our going-away presents from beyond time to carry with us through time to lighten our step as we go. And part at least of the wisdom of the third one [Love] is… ‘Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders.’ Above all, never question the truth beyond all understanding and surpassing all other wonders. That in the long run nothing, not even the world, not even ourselves, can separate us forever from that last and deepest love that glimmers in our dusk like a pearl, like a face. “ (P. 112) So well said, and more importantly, so true! Buechner basically promises that becoming a Christian is not the end of your journey, nor is it the beginning; it is just part of the whole of what God is doing in your life and in the lives of others. We aren’t done ye and this side of heaven, we never will be. Beautiful.
At first, I was a little put off by his over-thought and extreme poetic style of writing. I felt like he was wasting words and beating around the bush until, almost as if he read my thoughts he says “…I started to sense that words not only convey something, but are something; that words have color, depth, texture of their own, and the power to evoke vastly more than they mean; that words can be used not merely to make things clear, make things vivid, make things interesting and whatever else, but to make things happen inside the one who reads them or hears them.” (P. 68) and then it sort of clicked for me. This memoir isn’t simply a retelling of his major life moments, it is actually an attempt to explain and paint humanity and the vast array of feelings and emotions that entails. After reading that quote, I sort of relaxed and sat back to enjoy the ride and let the book just take me wherever he was going.
One thing that is amazing to me is how optimistic Buechner is, despite the harshness of his life and his emotionally under-developed family. I found this paragraph particularly beautiful: “To do for yourself the best that you have in you to do -To grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst- is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own.” (P. 46)
Adding these quotes to my review do not spoil this book, as I could never convey the art that is found here by chopping out little portions, and I could copy down a number of other amazing paragraphs, but I will leave that up to the individual to read- or borrow my underlined copy, but I do want to end with the message that Buechner himself ended with. After becoming a Christian and later deciding to attend seminary he says: “It was a long way to go, and there is no question but that there is a vastly longer way to go still, for all of us, before we are done. And the way we have to go is full of perils, both from without and from within, and who can say for sure what we will find at the end of our journeys, or if, when that time comes, it will prove to be anything more than such a beautiful dream… Faith. Hope. Love-- As words so worn out, but as realities so rich. Our going-away presents from beyond time to carry with us through time to lighten our step as we go. And part at least of the wisdom of the third one [Love] is… ‘Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders.’ Above all, never question the truth beyond all understanding and surpassing all other wonders. That in the long run nothing, not even the world, not even ourselves, can separate us forever from that last and deepest love that glimmers in our dusk like a pearl, like a face. “ (P. 112) So well said, and more importantly, so true! Buechner basically promises that becoming a Christian is not the end of your journey, nor is it the beginning; it is just part of the whole of what God is doing in your life and in the lives of others. We aren’t done ye and this side of heaven, we never will be. Beautiful.
August 23, 2022
After Buechner's recent death, I decided to re-read some of his books starting with this one.
He is one of my favorite spiritual authors - so much depth.
He is one of my favorite spiritual authors - so much depth.
August 14, 2020
This is a short book of Buechners upbringing and he remembers many of the happenings that formed his life. He does not go into great detail about his whole childhood but is very selective. It is interesting the details he remembers about how he felt and thought although he says it is hard at 30, 40, or 50 to exactly remember how you felt at 16. He waits until the last two pages to tell how everything in his life reached the culmination of him finding himself changed by some sort of faith in Christ. He tells it better than I but he indeed struggles to tell it because he wants to avoid cliched expressions.
What I really enjoy is his retelling of his life he reads so deeply into it that I am tempted to remember my sacred journey and maybe write it.
I have recommended this book to two friends who are reading it.
What I really enjoy is his retelling of his life he reads so deeply into it that I am tempted to remember my sacred journey and maybe write it.
I have recommended this book to two friends who are reading it.
December 12, 2013
Buechner assumes that, "the story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all." For that reason, he writes a memoir that doesn't fall into the genre's trap of overindulgence or braggadocio. Doing as he implores us to do, he looks back on his life to find the blessings he missed or half forgot. Buechner relays not only milestone highlights but also mundane lowlights and trifling no-lights that prove to be as significant in shaping him.
He dwells longest on episodes that provoke him to reflect on more than the happenings. He's adept at extrapolating from specifics to generalities. His recollections of childhood are especially profound.
The short book is laden with meaningful truths. Consider this nugget: "To do for yourself the best you have it in you to do-to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst-is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power life itself comes from."
We read autobiographies to learn about someone else. Sacred Journey is that rare sort of worthy autobiography through which we learn about ourselves and are reminded of our lives.
He dwells longest on episodes that provoke him to reflect on more than the happenings. He's adept at extrapolating from specifics to generalities. His recollections of childhood are especially profound.
The short book is laden with meaningful truths. Consider this nugget: "To do for yourself the best you have it in you to do-to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst-is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power life itself comes from."
We read autobiographies to learn about someone else. Sacred Journey is that rare sort of worthy autobiography through which we learn about ourselves and are reminded of our lives.
August 3, 2021
Honesty, mystery, and certainty share a warm embrace in Buechner's The Sacred Journey.
Buechner, now 95, wrote The Sacred Journey in his early fifties, a decade after The Alphabet of Grace. Whereas The Alphabet of Grace gives us a "day in the life of," The Sacred Journey attempts to "make something out of the hidden alphabet of the years." This is important. Because God is at work in our lives, we are not simply marking time, but are on a sacred journey.
Buechner is looking back in order to look ahead. He searches memories and moments, some shocking (his father's suicide) and some seemingly mundane and forgettable (the garbled blessing of a monk); he searches and listens for the voice of God.
I mentioned that The Sacred Journey is honesty, mystery, and certainty. Here are examples:
Honesty: "Concern for myself was the hallmark of those years. . . . I do not think that it occurred to me to me then to wonder much about the kind of person I was becoming or not becoming. I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I had no clear idea what I wanted to write about . . . I believe, apart from simply the great fun of it for me, [becoming a writer] was as much as anything to become famous enough not to have to explain to strangers how to pronounce my difficult last name. To be famous, it seemed to me, would be no longer to have to worry about explaining who I was even to myself because what fame meant was to be so known that in a sense I would no longer be a stranger to anybody." (pp. 89-90)
Mystery: "I choose to believe that, from beyond time, a saving mystery breaks into our time at odd and unforeseeable moments . . . " (p. 96). The Sacred Journey is a chronicle of the mysteries of life, seemingly unknown, but never to God, and less to ourselves as we learn to listen to them.
Certainty: "God was addressing me out of my life as he address us all" (p. 6) ... and "here at the end [of his memoir] I am left with no other way of saying it than that what I found finally was Christ. Or was found. It hardly seems to matter which. . . . I am reduce to the word that is his name because no other seems to account for the experience so fully." (pp. 110-111)
Where Buechner has me scratching my head:
I appreciate the ponderings of Buechner, I always glean from his writings, but some lines give cause for pause -- and a little concern:
My evaluation and recommendation:
The Sacred Journey did not change my life, but it certainly get me thinking about my life -- about how God uses everyday moments, even seemingly benign moments, à la the pondering of Augur the pondering of Augur in Proverbs 30, to "speak" into my life. And the fact that God is intricately involved in every facet of life makes mine -- and yours -- a sacred journey. Should you read it? Of course. It's Buechner!
Delightful passages:
The weak power of self: "You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own." p. 48. This entire page is worth a re-read.
Buechner's descriptive powers: "And Grandma Buechner came too--like the Inspector General, we feared--came to run her white gloved finger over the upper edges and lower sills of our lives, checking for unreality and extravagance, came to dust off a Scharmann maxim or two." p. 51
The book in a sentence: "'For all thy blessings, known and unknown, remembered and forgotten, we give thee thanks,' runs an old prayer, and it is for the all but unknown ones and the more than half-forgotten ones that we do well to look back over the journey of our lives because it is their presence that marks the life of each of us a sacred journey." p. 57
On words and vocation: But if a vocation is as much the work that chooses you as the work you choose, then I knew from that time on that my vocation was, for better or worse, to involve the searching for, and treasuring, and telling of secrets which is what the real business of words is all about."
On memory: Memory is more than a looking back to a time that is no longer; it is a looking out into another kind of time altogether where everything that ever was continues not just to be, but to grow and change with the life that is in it still." p. 21
His "Mrs. Everest" (an early and powerful influence on Winston Churchill): "[Mrs. Taylor] was my mentor, my miracle-worker, and the mother of much that I was and in countless unrecognized ways probably still am, yet I don't know where she came from or anything about her life apart from the few years of that she spent with us." pp. 13-14.
Authors and books that shaped him: Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory,Donne, the Apostle Paul, Thomas Craven's A Treasury of Art Masterpieces, Gerald Manley Hopkins, writers of the 17th century: Sir Thomas Browne and Bishop Jeremy Taylor and John Doone; Paradise Lost
Buechner, now 95, wrote The Sacred Journey in his early fifties, a decade after The Alphabet of Grace. Whereas The Alphabet of Grace gives us a "day in the life of," The Sacred Journey attempts to "make something out of the hidden alphabet of the years." This is important. Because God is at work in our lives, we are not simply marking time, but are on a sacred journey.
Buechner is looking back in order to look ahead. He searches memories and moments, some shocking (his father's suicide) and some seemingly mundane and forgettable (the garbled blessing of a monk); he searches and listens for the voice of God.
He speaks not just through the sounds we hear, of course, but through events in all their complexity and variety, through the harmonies and disharmonies and counterpoint of all that happens.Buechner gives us his life story in three movements: "Once Below a Time" (the period of childhood when timelessness reigns), "Once Upon a Time" (the moment and days when the fragility and temporality of life takes hold), "Beyond Time" (hearing the voice of God in the listening to one's life happening as part of [God's] plot for one's life).
I mentioned that The Sacred Journey is honesty, mystery, and certainty. Here are examples:
Honesty: "Concern for myself was the hallmark of those years. . . . I do not think that it occurred to me to me then to wonder much about the kind of person I was becoming or not becoming. I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I had no clear idea what I wanted to write about . . . I believe, apart from simply the great fun of it for me, [becoming a writer] was as much as anything to become famous enough not to have to explain to strangers how to pronounce my difficult last name. To be famous, it seemed to me, would be no longer to have to worry about explaining who I was even to myself because what fame meant was to be so known that in a sense I would no longer be a stranger to anybody." (pp. 89-90)
Mystery: "I choose to believe that, from beyond time, a saving mystery breaks into our time at odd and unforeseeable moments . . . " (p. 96). The Sacred Journey is a chronicle of the mysteries of life, seemingly unknown, but never to God, and less to ourselves as we learn to listen to them.
Certainty: "God was addressing me out of my life as he address us all" (p. 6) ... and "here at the end [of his memoir] I am left with no other way of saying it than that what I found finally was Christ. Or was found. It hardly seems to matter which. . . . I am reduce to the word that is his name because no other seems to account for the experience so fully." (pp. 110-111)
Where Buechner has me scratching my head:
I appreciate the ponderings of Buechner, I always glean from his writings, but some lines give cause for pause -- and a little concern:
It seemed to me then, and seems to me still, that if God speaks to us at all in this world, if God speaks anywhere, it is into our personal lives that he speaks." (p. 1)Certainly, Buechner points us to Scripture (albeit vaguely) from time-to-time, and I want to believe he does not elevate personal ponderings to the level of holy writ, otherwise he leaves me scratching my head as I did when a young college student told me years ago, that God told her what to wear -- every day. Happily, such is missing from the reflective "life pondering" of Frederick Buechner.
My evaluation and recommendation:
The Sacred Journey did not change my life, but it certainly get me thinking about my life -- about how God uses everyday moments, even seemingly benign moments, à la the pondering of Augur the pondering of Augur in Proverbs 30, to "speak" into my life. And the fact that God is intricately involved in every facet of life makes mine -- and yours -- a sacred journey. Should you read it? Of course. It's Buechner!
Delightful passages:
The weak power of self: "You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own." p. 48. This entire page is worth a re-read.
Buechner's descriptive powers: "And Grandma Buechner came too--like the Inspector General, we feared--came to run her white gloved finger over the upper edges and lower sills of our lives, checking for unreality and extravagance, came to dust off a Scharmann maxim or two." p. 51
The book in a sentence: "'For all thy blessings, known and unknown, remembered and forgotten, we give thee thanks,' runs an old prayer, and it is for the all but unknown ones and the more than half-forgotten ones that we do well to look back over the journey of our lives because it is their presence that marks the life of each of us a sacred journey." p. 57
On words and vocation: But if a vocation is as much the work that chooses you as the work you choose, then I knew from that time on that my vocation was, for better or worse, to involve the searching for, and treasuring, and telling of secrets which is what the real business of words is all about."
On memory: Memory is more than a looking back to a time that is no longer; it is a looking out into another kind of time altogether where everything that ever was continues not just to be, but to grow and change with the life that is in it still." p. 21
His "Mrs. Everest" (an early and powerful influence on Winston Churchill): "[Mrs. Taylor] was my mentor, my miracle-worker, and the mother of much that I was and in countless unrecognized ways probably still am, yet I don't know where she came from or anything about her life apart from the few years of that she spent with us." pp. 13-14.
Authors and books that shaped him: Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory,Donne, the Apostle Paul, Thomas Craven's A Treasury of Art Masterpieces, Gerald Manley Hopkins, writers of the 17th century: Sir Thomas Browne and Bishop Jeremy Taylor and John Doone; Paradise Lost
March 18, 2009
Beautiful memoir of Buechner's early days. Tragedy and happiness are examined and treated lovingly as the gift they were. His lyrical descriptions evoke vivid imagery and sharp emotions.
"...and it is for all unknown ones (blessings) and the more than half-forgotten ones that we do well to look back over the journeys of our lives because it is their presence that makes the life of each of us a sacred journey."
"What quickens my pulse now is the stretch ahead rather than the one behind, and it is mainly for some clue to where I am going that I search through where I have been."
"And it is because I believe that (that God was addressing me out of my life) that I think of my life and of the lives of everyone who has ever lived, or will ever live, as not just journeys through time, but as sacred journeys."
"There can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all.""Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders." (from the White Pearl to Rinkitink in the Oz books by Frank Baum, quoted by Buechner.
"...and it is for all unknown ones (blessings) and the more than half-forgotten ones that we do well to look back over the journeys of our lives because it is their presence that makes the life of each of us a sacred journey."
"What quickens my pulse now is the stretch ahead rather than the one behind, and it is mainly for some clue to where I am going that I search through where I have been."
"And it is because I believe that (that God was addressing me out of my life) that I think of my life and of the lives of everyone who has ever lived, or will ever live, as not just journeys through time, but as sacred journeys."
"There can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all.""Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders." (from the White Pearl to Rinkitink in the Oz books by Frank Baum, quoted by Buechner.
February 16, 2015
Buechner looks back on his first 25 or so years and muses on the various happenings that shaped his journey to Christ. The journey is ill-defined, erratic, filled with ups and downs, big and small events, as is that of most of us. He is very candid about his failures and his fears, his family and confused aspirations. As such the book it probably reflects much more about how those who become believers without a dated crisis become true followers of Christ.
The problem with Buechner, in more very jaundiced view, is his love of more classical language that bears the stamp of another era. He loves long convoluted sentences, extremely long paragraphs that make it difficult for a modern used to Twitter and Facebook and more punchy prose to wade through. And yet I found the book helpful and inspiring of reflection on my own life.
The problem with Buechner, in more very jaundiced view, is his love of more classical language that bears the stamp of another era. He loves long convoluted sentences, extremely long paragraphs that make it difficult for a modern used to Twitter and Facebook and more punchy prose to wade through. And yet I found the book helpful and inspiring of reflection on my own life.
March 6, 2011
Just finished this short and wonderful memoir of Buechner's early days. He chronicles the sounds and words of his life - the simple memories that slowly pushed and pulled him towards the mystery of faith in his late twenties. He captures the tragedies of his early life and the small beauties that were found in there as well. He shares with us his heart and his journey and makes us think that we are not alone.
He writes, "Listen. Your life is happening. You are happening. You back on your journey. The music of your life..." All of our lives are telling a story and we are all on a journey. Let us all pause and listen to that journey and story.
He writes, "Listen. Your life is happening. You are happening. You back on your journey. The music of your life..." All of our lives are telling a story and we are all on a journey. Let us all pause and listen to that journey and story.
January 26, 2016
"On All Saints' Day, it is not just the saints of the church that we should remember in our prayers, but all the foolish ones and wise ones, the shy ones and overbearing ones, the broken ones and whole ones, the despots and tosspots and crackpots of our lives who, one way or another, have been our particular fathers and mothers and saints, and whom we loved without knowing we loved them and by whom we were helped to whatever little we may have, or ever hope to have, of some kind of seedy sainthood of our own."
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