Gently Down This Dream: Notes on My Sudden Departure

by Hugh Prather, Gayle Prather

A beautiful final note from the pioneering author of the classic Notes to Myself

Gently Down This Dream is a book for those who are tired of striving and suffering and want to awaken to the peace and love that are within us all. When bestselling author Hugh Prather completed this book in 2010, he gave it to his wife and writing partner, Gayle, to shape and edit. He died the next day. The book’s essays, poems, and aphorisms — bravely self-revelatory, relentlessly compassionate, and born out of a lifetime of contemplative practice and counseling work — make for a lovely, and loving, PS to his millions of fans and a winning introduction to his beautiful mind for new fans to come. They present the self-improvement practices that Hugh and Gayle learned in their long life together and later taught. The Prathers’ authentic humor, comfort, and spiritual insights are perfect for the divisive times we live in, offering a way through what can often seem the prison of the self, a reliable means for navigating a world that sometimes feels out of control, and a path to love.

248 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

Hugh Prather, Jr. was a writer, minister, and counselor, most famous for his first book, Notes to Myself. , which was first published in 1970 by Real People Press. It has sold over 5 million copies, and has been translated into ten languages.
Together with his second wife, Gayle Prather, whom he married in 1965, he wrote other books, including The Little Book of Letting Go; "I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me"; How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy; I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love; Spiritual Notes to Myself: Essential Wisdom for the 21st Century; Shining Through: Switch on Your Life and Ground Yourself in Happiness; Spiritual Parenting: A Guide to Understanding and Nurturing the Heart of Your Child; Standing on My Head: Life Lessons in Contradictions; A Book of Games: A Course in Spiritual Play; Love and Courage; Notes to Each Other; A Book for Couples; The Quiet Answer; and There is a Place Where You Are Not Alone.
Born in Dallas, the younger Hugh Prather earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1966 after study at Principia College and Columbia University. He studied at the University of Texas at the graduate level without taking a degree. While he could be categorized as a New Age writer, he drew on Christian language and themes and seemed comfortable conceiving of God in personal terms. His work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty; declined to endorse dramatic claims about the power of the individual mind to effect unilateral transformations of external material circumstances; and stressed the need for the mind to let go of destructive cognitions in a manner not unlike that encouraged by the cognitive-behavioral therapy of Aaron T. Beck and the rational emotive behavior therapy commended by Albert Ellis.

Reviews

[Sisca · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's so much wisdom from Hugh. Would recommend this book as your bedtime reading as it will remind you each night that life can be peaceful and beautiful.