What do you think?
Rate this book
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH Confession: The Only Key to Living Forever
Author Dave Durand offers a refreshing perspective on the Sacrament of Confession that is most often overlooked (and even avoided). As you discover the true power of this sacrament you Reduce anxiety Be released from the emotional weight of sin Clarify your thinking Be filled with more energy to live your faith well here on earth More eagerly anticipate heaven, where you will someday live in a resurrected body, the ultimate sign of the eternal fountain of youth.
93 pages, Paperback
Published October 12, 2024
19 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 26, 2025
Picked this up at a church I went to for confession.
If you are a practicing Catholic then the materials of this book shouldn’t be too surprising, but I find often that the simple truths are worth reflecting on.
That being said, the formatting in this book was questionable. The author would often take a quote from the previous paragraph and blow up the size of the text to take up most of, if not all of the next page. I understand the idea that you want to put focus on what you’re saying, but that’s why we have bolded typeface.
It’s not a long book by any means, just 60 pages or so with a big excerpt from the relevant section of the Catechism adding another 20. It just felt kind of insulting as a reader to see something I just read, blown up and repeated, as if I’m not paying attention.
Still, if you see this book around you should pick it up. A good read and definitely worth reading while waiting in line for confession.
If you are a practicing Catholic then the materials of this book shouldn’t be too surprising, but I find often that the simple truths are worth reflecting on.
That being said, the formatting in this book was questionable. The author would often take a quote from the previous paragraph and blow up the size of the text to take up most of, if not all of the next page. I understand the idea that you want to put focus on what you’re saying, but that’s why we have bolded typeface.
It’s not a long book by any means, just 60 pages or so with a big excerpt from the relevant section of the Catechism adding another 20. It just felt kind of insulting as a reader to see something I just read, blown up and repeated, as if I’m not paying attention.
Still, if you see this book around you should pick it up. A good read and definitely worth reading while waiting in line for confession.
January 15, 2026
A great introduction to and reminder of the importance of sacramental confession. Durand shows why confession is the key to both mental health and spiritual health:
it heals mentally because it frees us from self-justification, arrogance, and the lie of self sufficiency. No longer do we have to live as if we are the judge, as if we alone hold our lives together.
It heals spiritually because it is the moment when we approach Christ and hear his infallible words: I absolve you from your sins. What Christ says, is. When Christ through the priest says those words, sin is literally annihilated (“For I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sins no more” Heb. 8:12).
Satan loves to remind us of our sins, but confession leaves him with nothing to talk about.
It was also helpful to be reminded that confession is not merely a place to annihilate sin; it is also a place to grow in grace. Every time we go to confession, our strength to love God and conquer sin grows. After all, this is only natural since confession is nothing less than an encounter with Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the greatest saints (notably JPII) are the ones who went to confession frequently.
it heals mentally because it frees us from self-justification, arrogance, and the lie of self sufficiency. No longer do we have to live as if we are the judge, as if we alone hold our lives together.
It heals spiritually because it is the moment when we approach Christ and hear his infallible words: I absolve you from your sins. What Christ says, is. When Christ through the priest says those words, sin is literally annihilated (“For I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sins no more” Heb. 8:12).
Satan loves to remind us of our sins, but confession leaves him with nothing to talk about.
It was also helpful to be reminded that confession is not merely a place to annihilate sin; it is also a place to grow in grace. Every time we go to confession, our strength to love God and conquer sin grows. After all, this is only natural since confession is nothing less than an encounter with Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the greatest saints (notably JPII) are the ones who went to confession frequently.
December 15, 2025
Picked this book at the parish, read it in half a morning, and returned it for future readers.
It's a short reminder of why we need confession, with answers to common objections, plus the full section of the cathechism on confession at the end, as well as a rather brief examination of conscience.
It's a short reminder of why we need confession, with answers to common objections, plus the full section of the cathechism on confession at the end, as well as a rather brief examination of conscience.
February 1, 2025
Takes real courage and humility for an author to say, "I can't say this any better than the Church already has, here's the all the relevant parts of the catechism."
April 17, 2025
I picked up this free book after Mass in Easley back in Advent. Yeah, it’s far past time I read it.
Anyhoodle, the priest at Mass mentioned that it was called ‘Fountain of Youth’ because if you made a book about Confession and put that straightforwardly in the title, then less people would pick it up. Which is a shame, because Confession is an important part of our faith! And we shouldn’t be scared of it.
The book goes over some of the theology of Reconciliation, and how it works. Then it goes into people’s objections to it, as to why they don’t go, and dedicates a section to dismantling each one. And it ends with appendices, one of which is a help for the examination of conscience, and the other is a set of Catechism paragraphs about Confession.
Okay, frankly, the Catechism bit isn’t exactly riveting reading, but it is useful to have for reference.
There’s also this thing throughout the book where certain quotes are blown up and take up sections of a page, or even a whole page, in a manner similar to a magazine. I don’t know why the editors thought to do that? I guess to emphasize certain ideas, it works, but it also feels like it’s a way to pad out the page count when you didn’t need to.
Whatever! It’s a pretty useful book on Confession, and it was free, and it’s easy to read within a day.
Anyhoodle, the priest at Mass mentioned that it was called ‘Fountain of Youth’ because if you made a book about Confession and put that straightforwardly in the title, then less people would pick it up. Which is a shame, because Confession is an important part of our faith! And we shouldn’t be scared of it.
The book goes over some of the theology of Reconciliation, and how it works. Then it goes into people’s objections to it, as to why they don’t go, and dedicates a section to dismantling each one. And it ends with appendices, one of which is a help for the examination of conscience, and the other is a set of Catechism paragraphs about Confession.
Okay, frankly, the Catechism bit isn’t exactly riveting reading, but it is useful to have for reference.
There’s also this thing throughout the book where certain quotes are blown up and take up sections of a page, or even a whole page, in a manner similar to a magazine. I don’t know why the editors thought to do that? I guess to emphasize certain ideas, it works, but it also feels like it’s a way to pad out the page count when you didn’t need to.
Whatever! It’s a pretty useful book on Confession, and it was free, and it’s easy to read within a day.
January 12, 2026
Has lots of interesting points laid out in “excuses,” though the one that I was wanting to know more about was “it is not necessary to go to a priest.” I didn’t find this section as thorough as I wanted and still have questions on that issue. The other chapters felt sound but didn’t feel strictly Catholic, I feel I have already addressed/overcame those issues in general Christian faith. Overall I do feel I have a greater understanding of the sacrament of confession and feel more compelled by it. Finished in one afternoon.
March 24, 2025
A wonderful book about the truth and reality of this amazing Sacrament. I read this book during lent and it helped me clarify a lot of things as well as motivate me to incorporate the Sacrament of reconciliation more into my life. Dave Durand writes in a thoughtful but easy to understand way, using personal examples and scripture throughout the book. There are wonderful resources in the back as well.
March 16, 2025
Outstanding. Real talk and truth - if you’re struggling with your faith, if you want to understand the Catholic faith and Sacrament of Confession, or if you need to reform your life read this. “Remember you were made in God’s image — He was not made in yours”
September 20, 2025
A great read especially for Catholics who are afraid of confession or haven’t been in a while. Dave Durand puts it all in perspective. If you truly want peace in your life, please read this book and then Go To Confession! God Bless You! 🙏
December 14, 2025
I really enjoyed this quick read of debunking several misconceptions about the sacrament of confession in the Catholic faith. This was a very approachable book that was easy to read and very relatable.
January 18, 2026
This book was the Christmas present from our parish church. You can tell the author is a motivational speaker. Although his style of writing does not appeal to me necessarily, I did find the information in the appendix helpful and enlightening.
March 25, 2025
Great Lenten read on the power and necessity of Confession.
March 28, 2025
Pretty good read, pretty short, nothing crazy new or shocking in it
April 21, 2025
Excellent book, easy read.
June 23, 2025
3 stars because I felt like I didn’t learn much and I already knew most of the info but still good
November 23, 2025
fairly basic, but a good and accessible introduction to Confession
January 8, 2026
The meaning of life, choose to be with God or without. Everyone should read this, and follow it’s guidance.
January 22, 2026
I liked all of his writings. He brought up some great points throughout. I struggled as expected with the excerpts from the Catechism which is above my pay grade so often. Glad to have read this.
February 2, 2026
Greatly encouraging of the sacrament and its benefits.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews