Scars: Essays, Poems and Meditations on Affliction

I had the honor of taking some of his classes in seminary in Rome. Each day was like a little retreat. You can experience a little of that with this book.

Father Paul Murray writes about woundedness in a manner that is so very accessible, yet leaves you pondering it, plumbing the depths of it. I've had this book for a few years, and have given away innumerable copies as gifts. They have been given to a woman who was very many decades into a difficult marriage, friends who are caring for their elderly parents, many who have lost loved ones, and today to a teenager who has lost two friends to suicide. Fr. Murray's book is nothing like a self-help book, instead it is a study of wounds, and somehow in this - it has helped everyone who has received it. Thank you for this work!

I found it very insightful. You may know the words, you may know the story but the book really breaks down the meaning aand take a ways in each of the last spoken words before dies.

This is a fascinating book, full of surprises. The different writing styles throughout made it most interesting. The overall message of there being a redeeming possibility in suffering is one I needed to hear. Contemporary stories from Rwanda and from death row in South Africa, among other wonderful accounts from the Holocaust camps gave a comprehensive background to this alternative way of being. Paul Murray also gave a beautiful sprinkle of quotations of such figures as Catherine of Siena who, though living some centuries ago, still has a message for our time. Perhaps the most moving part for me was at the end. Paul's insights into the last words of Christ were most touching and remain with me.

A moving and inspiring collection of stories. This personal journey into the difficult subject if suffering offers a companion for those who have struggled with the question of suffering; its meaning and value. Fr Murray brings together personal accounts that give hope and encouragement. The author's poems in the middle of the book allow a period of reflection. This is not a long book but it should not be rushed.

I prefer not to write reviews. The star ratings speak for themselves.