“If you seek, find this book.”
Mark Oppenheimer, author of Knocking on Heaven's Door
Did you know that Genghis Khan sought spiritual counseling as he approached retirement? — or that Socrates turned to spiritual exploration after a debilitating personal crisis, as did Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, William James, jazz genius Mary Lou Williams, the current Pope Francis, and indeed myriad brilliant minds, ancient and contemporary, across all borders of cultural diversity?
In Making Peace with the Universe, Michael Scott Alexander considers human spirituality as the original form of therapy. Mixing scholarly learning with episodes from his own skeptical quest, he recasts classic spiritual confessions as psychological case histories, showing how they remain radical and deeply meaningful even in an age of scientific psychology. These classic spiritual confessions offer a model of therapy through spiritual adventure.
Alexander writes: “Somewhere along the path of life’s journey, these capable and successful people lost track of themselves. In their darkest moments of confusion and indirection they all did something very normal, even reasonable: they sought spiritual grounding. Their confessions ultimately portray the achievement of a kind of spiritual mood, a peace with the universe and with one’s place in it.”
Praise for Making Peace with the Universe
“What happens when worlds fall apart? It’s a question that so many of us have asked ourselves in times of crisis. The marvel of Michael Scott Alexander’s book is that he has transformed his own search into a discovery of the wisdom of the ages. Erudite and deeply personal, this book captures the pain of losing faith and the joy of rediscovering a deeper meaning.”—Rebecca L. Davis, author of More Perfect Unions: The American Search for Marital Bliss
“What if the classics of religious thought actually made you feel . . . better? In this stunning, accessible book, Michael Scott Alexander—the most chill professor you never had—shows that the greatest minds of the past were deeply attuned to the crises of the present, midlife and otherwise. Their solutions, and his, map a path through the dark wood of our lives to the promised land of human flourishing.”—Noah Feldman, author of Divided by God: America's Church-State Problem—and What We Should Do About It
“A brilliant exploration of religious and spiritual experiences as they relate to the ability to heal the mind and promote psychological health. A missing piece of the puzzle of how religion intersects with psychological wellbeing.”—Andrew Newberg, author of Neurotheology: How Science Can Enlighten Us About Spirituality
“This incredible book mines the spiritual insights of history’s deepest souls. Alexander speaks to the reality that some truths emerge outside of a classroom or lab. From Socrates to jazz great Mary Lou Williams, we see that the pursuit of wisdom is often a torturous and tear-soaked journey. Yet it’s worth the ride!”—Jonathan L. Walton, author of A Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World
“It's not so hard to find a good book, but it's hard to find a book that's good in a totally new, surprising way. I've been reading about religion for 25 years, and I have never seen anything like Making Peace with the Universe, which combines religion scholarship, memoir, marital gossip, pop-music criticism, and an ode to friendship into one potent cocktail of love. If you seek, find this book.” —Mark Oppenheimer, author of Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture
