Skimmed it as the topic is not as compelling to me although she is a good writer and acedia (spiritual melancholia) and monks are of interest to those held near and dear. ( )

"Several themes are threaded throughout this book: the much-maligned doctrine of sin; the question of whether acedia may be acquainted with depression; the implications of believing that human beings are made in the image of God; the psychological insights to be found in monastic literature and practice; and the meaning of marriage and motherhood." from Author's Note.

Not exactly what I was expecting. Some inaccuracies in her descriptions.

Some may get value from it.

Someone asked me to summarize "Acedia" when it took Norris an entire book. The best way I understand it after reading the book is it's the feeling of "why bother?" This book helped me look at my life differently and start opening to some things in my personality that need review. The last chapter of the book is tedious and I want to say, unnecessarily depressing. She got my mood turned around by the penultimate chapter and then brought me down in the last chapter. And yet, the last chapter is important because she's wanting to assure that the reader has all the different pictures that show acedia's face. ( )

This book was not what I thought it was going to be, hence the low rating. I thought it was going to focus more on solitude. Instead, I got an education on Acedia (kinda like depression but not) and then a lot of Catholic theology. Parts were very interesting, but this is just not my preferred reading. ( )