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Our Name Is Melancholy : The Complete Books of Azrael
A unique and haunting "autobiography" of the Angel of Death, hailed by readers and reviewers as "The most fascinating true story of the 20th century!" A 12 year Best Seller of occult non-fiction, it sparked a subtle revolution in the way we deal with death in general, and Death, the entity. It brought us up close and personal with the melancholy spectre known as The Reaper. Through the Angel of Death's own words and the writings of His incarnate "soul-mate", this awesome spirit reveals to all His true nature and purpose. Also included are selections from The Necromantic Ritual Book, Shadows in The Half-Light, and treatises from Infinite Possibilities. Azrael is an eerie herald, come to enchant the world with a divine Dance Macabre. A story mighty in both sorrow and joy. The ultimate tale of Love & Death is, indeed, a True Story!
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 8, 2012
There really isn't anything one could say to review this book. It is difficult to categorize. Intertwined throughout the book is a love story so profound that it will leave you breathless. If, that is, if you can get past the forbidden aspect of this Eternal Love. The love story is so poignant that it sometimes feels like you are reading the writer's (and her lover's) diaries, hoping they won't catch you. This book is also a Magick Tome, it reaches out to you and stirs a Darkness deep within your Heart that you don't even know is there until it is touched. This touch may repel you, in fact it is likely to. This book is not designed for the masses, it is a message specifically for a few.
November 18, 2020
I simply adore this manuscript. By far one of the best reads in a long while!
September 17, 2025
First, it is a true shame this book has become so unreasonably expensive after the author's crossing over in 2020, when she left Earth to reunite forever with her Beloved. I sincerely hope more accessible versions will be published for future generations. It is a powerful work, worth saving and sharing.
I am a mystic and a modern Polytheist, so probably not quite on the same page as the author theologically. However, I have read "Our Name Is Melancholy" through twice now, and find it one of the more spiritually illuminating works ever created.
This is an account that will resonate in certain hearts. While alive here in human form, the author Leilah Wendell shared a deep connection--a spirit-marriage--with Azrael the Angel of Death. There are many passages and insights from both of their perspectives. The language can be beautiful and cuttingly poetic. There is much of seeing beauty in the dark places.
This is a book that gently reveals to us that Death is not to be feared, contrary to the false messages we receive from our flashing-neon societies. Death is our friend, our sacred gateway to the divine.
The author's deeply spiritual account is far from conventional. Death is anything but distant and abstract. An Angel, an Entity, a Person. She writes of not going into the light as we are commonly taught. Of how Death--Azrael--waits patiently at great cost to himself to help us.
This is a tome for anyone who asks acute and unusual questions, who senses a veneer of lies in much of what we have been taught on Earth about Death and dying....
It is a beautiful and sacred book.
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"Men think of Death as uncaring, harsh, severe. That Death does not feel human sadness. This is not true, as part of me has learned from dwelling among you." (p. 251)
"'Go into the light, my children.' Do yourself a favor, if you see any light, do not go into it unless you want to land back down here... or somewhere else encased in mud all over again. Turn from that light and walk into the shadows and soon enough your vision will grow accustomed to the dark until the darkness shines so beautifully that you can find your own way back Home." (p.341)
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I am a mystic and a modern Polytheist, so probably not quite on the same page as the author theologically. However, I have read "Our Name Is Melancholy" through twice now, and find it one of the more spiritually illuminating works ever created.
This is an account that will resonate in certain hearts. While alive here in human form, the author Leilah Wendell shared a deep connection--a spirit-marriage--with Azrael the Angel of Death. There are many passages and insights from both of their perspectives. The language can be beautiful and cuttingly poetic. There is much of seeing beauty in the dark places.
This is a book that gently reveals to us that Death is not to be feared, contrary to the false messages we receive from our flashing-neon societies. Death is our friend, our sacred gateway to the divine.
The author's deeply spiritual account is far from conventional. Death is anything but distant and abstract. An Angel, an Entity, a Person. She writes of not going into the light as we are commonly taught. Of how Death--Azrael--waits patiently at great cost to himself to help us.
This is a tome for anyone who asks acute and unusual questions, who senses a veneer of lies in much of what we have been taught on Earth about Death and dying....
It is a beautiful and sacred book.
-----
"Men think of Death as uncaring, harsh, severe. That Death does not feel human sadness. This is not true, as part of me has learned from dwelling among you." (p. 251)
"'Go into the light, my children.' Do yourself a favor, if you see any light, do not go into it unless you want to land back down here... or somewhere else encased in mud all over again. Turn from that light and walk into the shadows and soon enough your vision will grow accustomed to the dark until the darkness shines so beautifully that you can find your own way back Home." (p.341)
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December 1, 2008amazon.com
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews