Here by Lydia Sohn Book Review

About the Book:

Lydia Sohn was a serial burn-it-down-and-make-a-fresh-start girl until, when in her late twenties, she encountered the Rule of St. Benedict with its vow of stability, and her world was transformed. Sohn took a pause to consider what she wanted out of life—identity, purpose, community—and had a lightbulb moment: Everything she needed to live the life she desired was already within her reach.

Here pushes back against our age of constant reinvention and the cultural message that we should do whatever it takes to get wherever we want to go. Instead, Sohn’s message is the opposite: stay. Stay and cultivate the immense potential and beauty that currently lies dormant within your circumstances. 

Sohn understands the allure of nomadism. A nomadic life would protect us from the stress of relational conflicts that inevitably arise when we’re caught in the intricate web of commitments. But the restlessness, FOMO, and disappointment we’re trying to escape always come along for the journey. That’s because they’re not the result of our circumstances; they reside within us. 

Braiding personal narrative and spiritual reflection, Here inspires readers to both embrace and transform their circumstances through commitment and stability—in order that they might find true contentment right where they are.

My Review:

This is a personal account of Sohn working her way to understanding the Benedictine principle of stability. She helps us understand our own restlessness, our thinking that if we could just change our circumstances our restlessness would cease. But we take ourselves with us wherever we go, whatever external circumstances we change.

Sohn found her ground in the Benedictine rule of stability. We have been given a lot, a combination of what we have chosen and what we have been given by God. Sohn encourages us to realize, “All of life is a gift given to us by grace.” (690/2322) I was particularly struck by her teaching on gratitude as a vital aspect of the spirituality of stability. Gratitude is a state of being, she writes. It is an inner orientation that enables us to embrace who we are and the lot we have been given. (It is not about only those things we think are good.)

Sohn gives insights and personal examples from her life to help us think about stability and develop it within ourselves. She has provided questions at the end of each chapter for reflection or group discussion. This is a good book for those who desire to develop an inner spiritual stability regardless of external circumstances.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Rev. Lydia Sohn is a United Methodist minister, currently serving as senior pastor of Walnut United Methodist Church, and a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Christian Century, among other venues. She lives in Claremont, California with her husband and three children. Photo by Mark Dust.

Convergent Books, 224 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)