The Best Spiritual Writing 2002

I am such a sucker for any "The Best *blank* of *blank*" book... I think that I enjoy such collections so much because with an every changing subject matter in front of one nothing ever gets old - this excellent collection is no different! Written in the shadow of 9/11 this collection is slightly preoccupied with the subject but that is only to be expected. Unlike books that continue to be obsessed with this topic years later this book who's pieces were written right after the event are still filled with power but without the feeling that its power has been misappropriated to promote one's own agenda. Nowhere is the subject of 9/11 more artfully examined than in Brian Doyle's "Leap" and Morrison's "The Dead of September 11". Delving into the spiritual without having to be overly religious has always been a hallmark of this yearly series and I was not disappointed with this collection.

An Anthology that almost, without exception, is engaging and profound, but not religious. This is a book that you will keep and reread. There are no stunning revelations, but rather writings that give insight into the spiritual side of life. The various authors, in sometimes compelling ways, show that spirituality exists in the common, everyday aspects of life. Faith, devotion, virtue and Zen are all capture in a book that is perfect for a devotional readings. `Parabola' editor Philip Zaleski has done a great job selecting spiritual authors that inform, enlighten, and enchant. All of the writings are fresh and reflect the spirituality that can be found in our world today. If you are looking for good, even great writing, you will not be disappointed with this engaging spiritual anthology. Highly Recommended.

Reading this book was a great experience, and I found a majority of the essays extremely moving. The book came out well before the end of 2002, so I wonder if perhaps they released it a little too early - perhaps the editors could have found some better essays had they waited longer. I'd give "Best Spiritual Writing of 2001" 5 stars -- every essay in that book was extremely moving and powerful. If you're only going to read 1 of the 2 books, I recommend the 2001 anthology.

I have only read a few of the essays in this book so far, but they have all been wonderful. Brian Doyle's "Leap," about the couple who jumped to their deaths together from one of the World Trade Center towers, is worth the price of the book alone: "A couple leaped from the south tower, hand in hand. They reached for each other and their hands met and they jumped....Their hands reaching and joining are the most powerful prayer I can imagine, the most eloquent, the most graceful. It is everything that we are capable of against horror and loss and death. It is what makes me believe that we are not craven fools and charlatans to believe in God, to believe that human beings have greatness and holiness within them like seeds that open only under great fires, to believe that some unimaginable essence of who we are persists past the dissolution of what we were, to believe against such evil hourly evidence that love is why we are here."What amazing, amazing writing. It makes me cry.