Description: Acclaimed, award-winning essayist and novelist Brian Doyle--whose writing,in the words of Mary Oliver, is "a gift to us all"--presents one hundred new prayers that evoke his deep Catholic belief in the mystery and miracleof the ordinary (and the whimsical) in human life. In Brian Doyle's newest work, his readers will find a series of prayers unlike any of the beautiful, formal, orthodox prayers of the Catholic tradition or the warm, extemporized prayers heard from pulpits and dinner tables. Doyle's often-dazzling, always-poignant prayers include eye-opening hymns to shoes and faith and family. In Doyle's words, "the world is crammed with miracles, so crammed and tumultuous that if we stop, see, savor, we are agog," and the pages of his newest book give voice and body to this credo. By focusing on experiences that may seem the most unprayerful (one prayer is titled "Prayer on Seeing Yet Another Egregious Parade of Muddy Paw Prints on the Floor"), he gives permission to discover the joys and treasures in what he often calls the muddle of everyday life.
Brief description:
Brian Doyle (1956-2017) was a best-selling and award-winning author who served as editor of Portland Magazine from 1991 to 2017.
Doyle wrote many books of fiction, essays, and poems, including A Book of Uncommon Prayer, which was named one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2014 by Spirituality & Practice and received an honorable mention in the spiritual softcover books category from the Catholic Press Association. Doyle's novels include Mink River, The Plover, Chicago, and The Adventures of John Carson in Several Quarters of the World. His book Martin Martenwon the 2016 Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature and the 2017 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing.
Doyle was honored with several book awards from the Catholic Press Association, the Christopher Award, three Pushcart Prizes, the University of Notre Dame's Rev. Robert F. Griffin Award, the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award. However, his most important award and blessing was being a dad.
Doyle's work appeared in a number of publications, including Orion, The American Scholar, The Sun, The New York Times, Harper's, Commonweal, America, U.S. Catholic, The Christian Century, National Catholic Reporter, First Things, and Give Us This Day. His essays have been reprinted in several anthologies.
Review Quotes: "Brian Doyle remains our great poet of paradox: irreverently reverent, wildly civilized, jokingly serious, and earthily spiritual." --Gregory Wolfe, founder of Image magazine
"I keep this book on my desk for days that wrench my soul or ones where I just need a little refocus. Reading Brian Doyle's work, especially this tiny collection of prayers, has shown me how to view both moments of humor and pain as marked with God's grace." --Shemaiah Gonzalez, author of Brian Doyle: Finding God in the Ordinary "A Book of Uncommon Prayer is an anthem to everyday wonder. It made me want to pray and reminded me that attentiveness is prayer at its purest. I will reach for this book and Brian Doyle's magical blend of simplicity, tenderness, and humor for the rest of my ordinary days." --Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places "Brian Doyle is the best writer of spirituality in Catholicland, and I doubt if any writer can match him in any land. These amazing prayers--in thanks for decent shoes, for cashiers and checkout-counter folks, for the reader who photocopies this prayer and shares it with friends and sisters, and so many more --are where the rubber meets the road." --Michael Leach, author of Why Stay Catholic?