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Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Making of a Mystic
After losing his wife in childbirth, young American James Robertson visits spiritual director, Peter Calvay, who lives in the Outer Hebrides. At first James learns how to pray and how to meditate. Then when Peter is lost at sea, James finds details of Peter's own spiritual journey that inspires James to deepen his own spiritual life. As well as practical advice on prayer this part describes the deeply human story of the young woman with whom Peter falls deeply in love. Eventually Peter is found alive and the two men meet on the mainland at Peter s mother's funeral. Peter uses the teachings of the Cloud of Unknowing, St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila as well as the paradigm of his own parent's love for each other to explain the mystic life. Deeply moving lessons are drawn for those committed to paths that can lead to the fullest possible experience of love here on earth.
Originally in Three separate volumes - The Hermit, The Prophet, The Mystic Updated and edited)
Originally in Three separate volumes - The Hermit, The Prophet, The Mystic Updated and edited)
395 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2019
Will revolutionize your understanding of prayer
In my youth, I wished to learn to pray well and deeply -- to know Christ. I read Brother Lawrence, St Teresa of Avila, The Cloud of Unknowing, and while these inspired me I found Teresa's descriptions of the spiritual ascent confusing and off-putting, and figured the contemplative life was something only cloistered religious could really pursue. (And, frankly, I found the pretentiousness of some lay "contemplatives" off-putting as well, but for other reasons.) So, for many years I muddled along on my own, attending Mass as often as possible, praying the daily office, the rosary, meditating on Scripture, engaging in adoration and praying from the heart often during the course of the day, particularly when life seemed hard, frustrating, and exhausting. I reached a point where any kind of prayer seemed difficult to sustain and realized that I would never reach the heights of union in prayer that the great mystics write of.
But then I read a series that David Torkington was publishing on the Spiritual Direction blog and I began to realize that God had, all this time, been leading me along the mystic way all this time -- and that He intends reach and every one of us to live the contemplative life. The modern Church had lost sight of this crucial fact of the Christian life, and David Torkington has dedicated himself to reminding us and showing us the way.
Excited by the blog series, I read this book, Wisdom from the Western Isles, and it really blew me away. Torkington (wisely, I think) write the book as a fictionalized account of an ordinary man being taught the life of prayer by a young hermit living on a Scottish island. In this way, the reader can learn along with the narrator. The hermit's instruction is down-to-earth and crystal clear, profound yet in no way off-putting or confusing.
This book has shown me that during the years I thought I was making little or know progress in my spiritual life -- or even losing ground -- in fact the Lord has been leading me farther along the mystic way into the heart of His Son, which is the path of every contemplative soul and the calling of every Christian.
I encourage anyone and everyone who has ever sought a deeper life of prayer to read this book -- here you will find great encouragement and instruction, and a new will to persevere in prayer. And I encourage every other Christian, particularly those who feel that prayer is just for "specialists" our the peculiarly devout -- this book will enlighten and challenge you and, I hope, convince you that you cannot live a truly Christian life without setting your feet on the mystic way, which leads straight into the heart of God, who is our eternal destination.
In my youth, I wished to learn to pray well and deeply -- to know Christ. I read Brother Lawrence, St Teresa of Avila, The Cloud of Unknowing, and while these inspired me I found Teresa's descriptions of the spiritual ascent confusing and off-putting, and figured the contemplative life was something only cloistered religious could really pursue. (And, frankly, I found the pretentiousness of some lay "contemplatives" off-putting as well, but for other reasons.) So, for many years I muddled along on my own, attending Mass as often as possible, praying the daily office, the rosary, meditating on Scripture, engaging in adoration and praying from the heart often during the course of the day, particularly when life seemed hard, frustrating, and exhausting. I reached a point where any kind of prayer seemed difficult to sustain and realized that I would never reach the heights of union in prayer that the great mystics write of.
But then I read a series that David Torkington was publishing on the Spiritual Direction blog and I began to realize that God had, all this time, been leading me along the mystic way all this time -- and that He intends reach and every one of us to live the contemplative life. The modern Church had lost sight of this crucial fact of the Christian life, and David Torkington has dedicated himself to reminding us and showing us the way.
Excited by the blog series, I read this book, Wisdom from the Western Isles, and it really blew me away. Torkington (wisely, I think) write the book as a fictionalized account of an ordinary man being taught the life of prayer by a young hermit living on a Scottish island. In this way, the reader can learn along with the narrator. The hermit's instruction is down-to-earth and crystal clear, profound yet in no way off-putting or confusing.
This book has shown me that during the years I thought I was making little or know progress in my spiritual life -- or even losing ground -- in fact the Lord has been leading me farther along the mystic way into the heart of His Son, which is the path of every contemplative soul and the calling of every Christian.
I encourage anyone and everyone who has ever sought a deeper life of prayer to read this book -- here you will find great encouragement and instruction, and a new will to persevere in prayer. And I encourage every other Christian, particularly those who feel that prayer is just for "specialists" our the peculiarly devout -- this book will enlighten and challenge you and, I hope, convince you that you cannot live a truly Christian life without setting your feet on the mystic way, which leads straight into the heart of God, who is our eternal destination.
November 10, 2025
September 21, 2025: Torkington narrates a semi-autobiographical narrative of spiritual instruction. He is both the semi-hermit and his student, a recent widower. Rich. Read it extremely quickly because it was so good. Don't recommend that, however.
September 15, 2025: Read another article by Torkington last night and finally succumbed. I have been reading and loving his writing for years now, but he has written so much, I hardly knew where to begin. Which book first? Basically, I just went, Eeny, meeny, miny, Moe and this is the one I picked. Someone will now tell me that I should have begun with _________, but that's okay, I am going to read this.
September 15, 2025: Read another article by Torkington last night and finally succumbed. I have been reading and loving his writing for years now, but he has written so much, I hardly knew where to begin. Which book first? Basically, I just went, Eeny, meeny, miny, Moe and this is the one I picked. Someone will now tell me that I should have begun with _________, but that's okay, I am going to read this.
November 19, 2020
This book did an excellent job of outlining the spiritual adventures involved in seeking a relationship with God. Though the narrative is told in the first person, for the most part, it incorporates several points of view and experiences through letters and stories. This is not for readers looking for a quick thrill or fast action. More appropriately, this is a wonderfully meditative encounter with the stages of prayer leading toward a closer union with God. I found much of what Mr. Torkington said to be amazingly true. Like C. S. Lewis, I felt I was discovering truth again, but in a new light, from a fresh approach that helped (and will probably help me for years to come) to step a little closer to God, or rather, to let God reveal His constant presence to me. As someone once said, "If you have lost God, it is not God who is lost." This book helps to point the reader's spirit in the right direction.
December 4, 2019
It starts strong giving both hope for tasty narrative and substance to the reader. But, the stilted, inconsistent writing is saved only by (too much) robust content. A book easily 200 pages too long was marred primarily by a scattershot plot that fails to really go anywhere and, in many places, left dangling like a lonely participle.
If he had decided that story was the more important thing here rather than mystics textbook tucked inside bits of disconnected story, this would have been a still better experience. That said, his thoughts on the life of mystical prayer are stellar and worth consideration. I would still recommend it to my friends, thirsty to know more about the depths of the mystical life.
If he had decided that story was the more important thing here rather than mystics textbook tucked inside bits of disconnected story, this would have been a still better experience. That said, his thoughts on the life of mystical prayer are stellar and worth consideration. I would still recommend it to my friends, thirsty to know more about the depths of the mystical life.
August 5, 2018
Average, probably won't keep the book. Read it for my book club.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews