From Publishers Weekly
It takes a gifted writer to engage readers in a book of insights from men and women commonly understood to have spent their lives so close to God that they were unusual in almost every way. In this eloquent, seamlessly woven and delightfully readable book, Catholic convert Ellsberg, editor-in-chief of Orbis Books, makes the spiritual struggles and triumphs of sanctified men and women accessible and relevant to believers who grapple with the tension between the desire for earthly pleasure and the call to leave all behind and follow Jesus Christ. Giving this series of life lessons a vivid immediacy is the fact that Ellsberg ranges far and wide in his choice of saintly examples, including some non-Catholics and many modern icons of holiness. In the chapter on learning to suffer, for instance, 14th-century mystic Julian of Norwich and 20th-century Catholic writer Henri Nouwen fittingly illustrate Ellsberg's point that affliction can become an instrument of grace and transfiguration. What unites all the saints, he argues, is their ability and decision to see God's hand at work in the whole composition of their lives. Interwoven with moments of gentle homage to his mentor, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, this volume suggests to Catholics and other Christian readers the possibility that happiness can come by using the lens of holiness to illumine their lives, both remarkable and ordinary. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Going beyond traditional notions of personal growth, success, and happiness, this charming group of biographies shows how living the life of the spirit is the only path to true happiness. The stories, all beautifully told, show how the Church's venerated icons lived in accordance with God and the universe, carrying out authentic lives that insulated them from the negative influences of their immediate cultures and their false rewards. With tempered compassion, these lives convince us that suffering is an acceptable part of our journey toward fulfilling the deepest dimension of our humanity--our destiny according to God's will. A quiet, profoundly moving tribute to the lives and values that shape what Catholics believe is true happiness. T.W. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Saints are experts on holiness, but what do they know about happiness? The answer, Ellsberg says, depends on what we mean by happiness and on our understanding of holiness. Saints aren't all that different. They wonder about the meaning and purpose of life, and they feel disappointment and sadness. Some of the saints he discusses are reasonably remote (Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila), others quite modern (Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin). They all share finely developed senses of humanity and compassion, with which they remain ordinary in the best, most expansive sense of ordinariness. They model ideal behavior, setting standards to which we all can aspire. Ellsberg explores happiness through the lives and writings of these remarkable men and women, showing how relevant their stories are today but offering no guidance in the conventional sense. He insists that there is no way to happiness. Rather, there is a way of happiness. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"If you've been thirsting for a more authentic life, this is your book. No abstractions here, only real people scuffling, searching, stumbling into grace--and happiness. In these pages are living templates, which spark recognition: `Hey, that's me. I could be like that.' I love this book."
-- Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

"Happiness--deep, true, stable, lasting--is not the result of feelings, but is a by-product of holiness. Whatever the common opinion, it is in fact the holy who live life to the full. Robert Ellsberg understands this lovely paradox and explains all its implications with grace and charm."
- Sister Wendy Beckett, author of Sister Wendy’s Book of Saints

"Robert Ellsberg regards saints as friends worth knowing. His engaging book shows us why we should commune with the saints: for their uncommon wisdom as people who discovered that happiness and holiness are the same thing."
-- Kenneth L. Woodward, author of Making Saints

"Books that promise painless enlightenment sit side-by-side with those that offer a lengthy practice too daunting to learn. The Saints' Guide to Happiness is neither. Robert Ellsberg has sifted through the wisdom of 'those who walk the path of holiness' and produced neither a quick-fix nor a stiff tome, but a modern, refreshing guide to a true life and the kind of happiness that lasts."
-- Nora Gallagher, author of Practicing Resurrection



Review
"If you've been thirsting for a more authentic life, this is your book. No abstractions here, only real people scuffling, searching, stumbling into grace--and happiness. In these pages are living templates, which spark recognition: `Hey, that's me. I could be like that.' I love this book."
-- Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

"Happiness--deep, true, stable, lasting--is not the result of feelings, but is a by-product of holiness. Whatever the common opinion, it is in fact the holy who live life to the full. Robert Ellsberg understands this lovely paradox and explains all its implications with grace and charm."
- Sister Wendy Beckett, author of Sister Wendy’s Book of Saints

"Robert Ellsberg regards saints as friends worth knowing. His engaging book shows us why we should commune with the saints: for their uncommon wisdom as people who discovered that happiness and holiness are the same thing."
-- Kenneth L. Woodward, author of Making Saints

"Books that promise painless enlightenment sit side-by-side with those that offer a lengthy practice too daunting to learn. The Saints' Guide to Happiness is neither. Robert Ellsberg has sifted through the wisdom of 'those who walk the path of holiness' and produced neither a quick-fix nor a stiff tome, but a modern, refreshing guide to a true life and the kind of happiness that lasts."
-- Nora Gallagher, author of Practicing Resurrection



Review
"If you've been thirsting for a more authentic life, this is your book. No abstractions here, only real people scuffling, searching, stumbling into grace--and happiness. In these pages are living templates, which spark recognition: `Hey, that's me. I could be like that.' I love this book."
-- Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

"Happiness--deep, true, stable, lasting--is not the result of feelings, but is a by-product of holiness. Whatever the common opinion, it is in fact the holy who live life to the full. Robert Ellsberg understands this lovely paradox and explains all its implications with grace and charm."
- Sister Wendy Beckett, author of Sister Wendy’s Book of Saints

"Robert Ellsberg regards saints as friends worth knowing. His engaging book shows us why we should commune with the saints: for their uncommon wisdom as people who discovered that happiness and holiness are the same thing."
-- Kenneth L. Woodward, author of Making Saints

"Books that promise painless enlightenment sit side-by-side with those that offer a lengthy practice too daunting to learn. The Saints' Guide to Happiness is neither. Robert Ellsberg has sifted through the wisdom of 'those who walk the path of holiness' and produced neither a quick-fix nor a stiff tome, but a modern, refreshing guide to a true life and the kind of happiness that lasts."
-- Nora Gallagher, author of Practicing Resurrection



Book Description
A noted spiritual writer seeks answers to life's big questions in the stories of the saints

In All Saints---published in 1997 and already a classic of its kind---Robert Ellsberg told the stories of 365 holy people with great vividness and eloquence. In The Saints' Guide to Happiness, Ellsberg looks to the saints to answer the questions: What is happiness, and how might we find it?

Countless books answer these questions in terms of personal growth, career success, physical fitness, and the like. The Saints' Guide to Happiness proposes instead that happiness consists in a grasp of the deepest dimension of our humanity, which characterizes holy people past and present. The book offers a series of "lessons" in the life of the spirit: the struggle to feel alive in a frenzied society; the search for meaningful work, real friendship, and enduring love; the encounter with suffering and death; and the yearning to grasp the ultimate significance of our lives. In these "lessons," our guides are the saints: historical figures like Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Teresa of Avila, and moderns such as Dorothy Day, Flannery O'Connor, and Henri J. Nouwen. In the course of the book the figures familiar from stained-glass windows come to seem exemplars, not just of holy piety but of "life in abundance," the quality in which happiness and holiness converge.



About the Author
Robert Ellsberg, a native of Los Angeles, became a Catholic in 1980 while a member of the Catholic Worker house in downtown Manhattan. He now serves as editor-in-chief of Orbis Books. Married with three children, he lives in Ossining, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In All Saints -- published in 1997 and already a classic of its kind -- Robert Ellsberg told the stories of 365 holy people with great vividness and eloquence. In The Saints' Guide to Happiness, Ellsberg looks to the saints and asks: What is happiness, and how might we find it? Countless books answer these questions in terms of personal growth, career success, physical fitness, and the like. The Saints' Guide to Happiness proposes instead that happiness consists of a grasp of the deepest dimension of our humanity, which characterizes holy people past and present. The book offers a series of "lessons" in the life of the spirit: the struggle to feel fully alive in a frenzied society; the search for meaningful work, real friendship, and enduring love; the encounter with suffering and death; and the yearning to grasp the ultimate significance of our lives. In these "lessons," our guides are the saints: historical figures like Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Teresa of Avila, and moderns such as Dorothy Day, Flannery O'Connor, and Henri J. Nouwen. In the course of the book, figures familiar from stained-glass windows come to seem exemplars not just of holy piety but of "life in abundance," the quality in which happiness and holiness converge.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

It takes a gifted writer to engage readers in a book of insights from men and women commonly understood to have spent their lives so close to God that they were unusual in almost every way. In this eloquent, seamlessly woven and delightfully readable book, Catholic convert Ellsberg, editor-in-chief of Orbis Books, makes the spiritual struggles and triumphs of sanctified men and women accessible and relevant to believers who grapple with the tension between the desire for earthly pleasure and the call to leave all behind and follow Jesus Christ. Giving this series of life lessons a vivid immediacy is the fact that Ellsberg ranges far and wide in his choice of saintly examples, including some non-Catholics and many modern icons of holiness. In the chapter on learning to suffer, for instance, 14th-century mystic Julian of Norwich and 20th-century Catholic writer Henri Nouwen fittingly illustrate Ellsberg's point that affliction can become an instrument of grace and transfiguration. What unites all the saints, he argues, is their ability and decision to see God's hand at work in the whole composition of their lives. Interwoven with moments of gentle homage to his mentor, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, this volume suggests to Catholics and other Christian readers the possibility that happiness can come by using the lens of holiness to illumine their lives, both remarkable and ordinary. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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