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| Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints (Christian Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: James Martin
Publisher: Paulist Press
Category: Book
List Price: $10.00
Buy New: $5.21
You Save: $4.79 (48%)
New (32) Used (13) from $3.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 48810
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.4
ISBN: 158768036X
Dewey Decimal Number: 248
EAN: 9781587680366
ASIN: 158768036X
Publication Date: September 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
By meditating on personal examples from the author's life, as well as reflecting on the inspirational life and writings of Thomas Merton, stories from the Gospels, as well as the lives of other holy men and women (among them, Henri Nouwen, Therese of Lisieux and Pope John XXIII) the reader will see how becoming who you are, and becoming the person that God created, is a simple path to happiness, peace of mind and even sanctity.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 simple book, great ideas January 5, 2009
Drawing upon insights from the writings of Merton and others, Martin shows how these ideas apply to his own life. Always personable, this very short book is thoughtful and encouraging - leading the reader to consider how to "become who I am" and to realize the glory of the uniqueness of each individual. Highly recommended.
Life Changing November 25, 2008
I feel it was like looking in the refrigerator for the ketchup and yelling "It's not there!" Only when you take a step back, do you really see that it was really in front of you and only when you gave some room, did you see it clearly. This book is exactly that! lol. It was life changing for me, and I wish everyone would read it. I highly recommend it. I really feel this book gave a twist. It helps one to realize and to explore on ones own who they really are, instead of telling you how. It made me think for myself, instead of telling me what to do.
 Not one of Martin's best December 20, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm afraid I have to agree with the reviewer who concludes that this little book isn't one of Martin's better works. I'm a great admirer of his My Life with the Saints (2007), and thought his coming-out memoir, In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience (2000), one of the best spiritual autobiographies of the last quarter century. But Becoming Who You Are is, alas, a bit of fluff.
The Mertonian (actually, it's quite ancient, but Merton made it famous in our day and time) distinction between "true" and "false" self is pretty well known and has been formulated and reformulated time and again. The false self is the persona we present to the world; the true self is who we are before God. We can be just as deceived about our true identity as others around us are deceived. The spiritual journey is to grow into an awareness of true self, because this necessarily means growing into an awareness of God as well.
In exploring the true self/false self distinction, Martin basically culls some quotes from Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and Mother Theresa and intersperses among them autobiographical reflections (these latter are actually what make the book interesting). But nothing new is said.
To be fair, perhaps the book is intended as an absolute primer for absolute beginners (after all, it grew, Martin tells us, from a popular lecture he gave in a NYC church), and so is bound to disappoint readers who have even a passing acquaintance with Merton or Nouwen. But I suspect that it also might be an example of yet one more book the world could've done without, but which the rising reputation of the author made marketable. Whichever the case, the book's back cover enthusiastic endorsements (all by people I immensely admire) seem---well, rather overdone.
Am I somebody--Not Just an old lady with Parkinson's? November 16, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Almost 80! When you get to be my age, you need some ideas to get started on your inner journey and Thomas Merton has done that for me for 30 some years. Merton's concept of "the false self" proved to be the starting block for me; the mask I wore was not the physical one of Parkinson's Disease but one I had put on as a young girl who had to be "perfect" in everything. Admitting my sins and mistakes showed me "the false self" and turned out to be a life-giving grace as i shepherded 9 children through their teen years.
The author, James Martin, SJ took Merton's ability to write about his spirituality and, with vignettes from his own life, sent me on the right way. Martin has done a fine job.
Great for discussion August 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Our scripture group is setting aside a half hour each week before our meetings to discuss each chapter of this book. Several members have already read it once and are eager to read it again so that we can talk about how it applies to each of us. I just can't say enough for Father James Martin--what a great, somewhat new, voice from the Jesuits to the "people in the pews."
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