Anam Cara: The book I keep on my nightstand

“Live Everything,” says John O'Donohue (although the capitalization of the letter “E” is my personal addition). These two words contain multitudes, and yet, if we chose to guide our entire life by their overarching principle, I think we would fair very well. For if we could truly open ourselves up to the possibility, the despair, the adventure, the joy and wild reality of all parts of our lives, how could we possibly look back and conclude that we led anything other than a life well lived? So simply, and yet, how profoundly difficult it is to truly live everything!  

Of course, Anam Cara is much more than those two words. It is a journey from birth through life to death and beyond, presented in clear, digestible language (I hesitate to use the word “poetry” here, for fear it may scare off those of us who have experienced the kind of dense or abstract versions of poetry that can make the reading experience arduous and difficult...but in truth, O’Donohue’s book is it is poetry in the highest form, which is to say, it is the clear, crisp distillation of truth into language). So many books on spiritualism, mysticism, psychology, or that could generally be labeled “self-help” require effort, discomfort, brow-furrowing, persistence, and my, what a relief it is to address all of the major questions of life with the ease of floating downriver in the sunshine. This is the magic of Anam Cara, the wisdom itself is golden, but its delivery goes down like honeyed tea.  

At its core, Anam Cara is a book that reminds you that you are not separate from the world or divinity. That, in fact, your heart and soul are already whole. You need not look to the world to complete what is already whole. It is a book you can read for five minutes and feel another layer of the beautiful mystery of life opening itself to you. It is a book you can (and will want to) re-read over your lifetime and never tire of its contents. It is a book you keep on your nightstand indefinitely because it is a comfort just to know it is near. Ok, it is a book that I keep on my nightstand, just to know that it is near—its wisdom is like a warm blanket I want to fall asleep under each night, and I think you will too.  

Ready to dive in? Order from here and look under “Sarah’s Picks!” 

With love of books aplenty, 

Sarah Kerrigan