Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

In this eagerly awaited follow-up to his international bestsellers Anam Cara and Eternal Echoes, John O'Donohue turns his attention to the subject of beauty — the divine beauty that calls theimagination and awakens all that is noble in the human heart.

In these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis, we are riven with anxiety; our trust in the future has lost its innocence, from one second to the next. In such an unsheltered world, it may sound naive to suggest that this might be the moment to invoke and awaken beauty, yet this is exactly the claim that this book seeks to explore.

Beauty is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. O'Donohue opens our eyes, hearts, and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty. Rather than "covering" this theme, he uncovers it, exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us to the dignity of silence, the profundity of stillness, the power of thought and perception, and the eternal grace and generosity of beauty's presence. In this masterful and revelatory work, O'Donohue encourages our greater intimacy with beauty and celebrates it for what it really is: a homecoming of the human spirit.

As he focuses on the classical, medieval, and Celtic traditions, on art, music, literature, nature, and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us toward new heights of passion and creativity.

Beauty is an exquisite treasury of Forms of the Beautiful. Its surface employs narrative, image, anecdote, and myth, while into the silence of its subtext are sown seeds of reflection that gradually blossom in the heart.

The author of "Anam Cara" describes, in his unique style, the role of beauty in readers' lives. Drawing from his own Celtic wisdom and the writings of Keats, Rilke, Thomas Aquinas, and others, John O'Donohue guides readers to attune to "that which shows us the surprise at the heart of everything."

John O'Donohue was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of Tübingen in 1990. He is the author of several works, including a book on the philosophy of Hegel, Person als Vermittlung; two collections of poetry, Echoes of Memory and Conamara Blues; and two international bestsellers, Anam Cara and Eternal Echoes. He lectures and holds workshops in Europe and America, and is currently researching a book on the philosophical mysticism of Meister Eckhart. He lives in Ireland.