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The Long Lonelinessx$7.90
  (11 reviews)
Best Price: $7.90
A compelling autobiographical testament to the spiritual pilgrimage of a woman who, in her own words, dedicated herself "to bring[ing] about the kind of society where it is easier to be good.''
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Customer Reviews
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A model
By A3SO4SZPDNW0S3 on 2002-05-31
Dorothy Dayƒs life story is one that I hope will inspire and motivate many Christians -- many more than it already has. A full-on Bohemian in her twenties, she wrote for Socialist papers, joined strikes and picket lines, and spent her share of time in jail for protests. She was an activistƒs activist.
And then she met Jesus. Actually the Call of the Spirit had been upon her, or inside her, since early childhood, but it wasnƒt until the birth of her child that she finally acknowledged fully and became a member of the Catholic church.
I can easily identify with her problems and issues with the church -- it always seems to be on the side of the Established, the Rich and Powerful, caring not and giving not to the poor and needy, the oppressed and voiceless. Dorothy found, as too few of us have, that God heart cries out for the poor, Jesus identified himself with the oppressed and voiceless, and, as James said, true religion that God honors is looking after the widowed and the orphans in their distress.
And so, with the help, mentorship and inspiration of her friend Peter Maurin, Dorothy continued her activist ways, in the name of Christ. She started the Catholic Worker newspaper, which championed the causes of the poor and working-class. She and her friends started hospitality houses, taking in and feeding any who needed it.
Like Mother Teresaƒs, Dorothy Dayƒs story is really very simple -- she saw what there was to do, she took her Masterƒs words to heart, and she started doing it. Without advanced programs, grants, visioning sessions, without much of a plan at all really, she just started doing it. And she has changed the world in important ways, giving glory to God all along the way. She is a hero of the faith to me, and I hope that God will use me as He chose to use her. Dorothy Day trained herself as a journalist, a writer, and made her living as such all of her life. This training is evident in her writing -- the book is compact, imagistic, and quick to read. The first half is fairly chronological, as she relates her life up until the point of her conversion and move to New York. After that -- basically after she meets Peter -- it becomes more topical, and the timeline more of a blur. Which was probably true of her life, so much happening and unfolding that itƒs hard to tell what started when and where the endings are, if there are any. I enjoyed this book, and I learned from it -- most notably that the work of activism, of giving voice to the voiceless, is long and hard, with many defeats. But many defeats add up to slow victory, as we make progress over decades at a time. Things are better than they were in Dorothyƒs heyday, and we owe much of it to her and her contemporaries. We also owe a great debt to her for the life she has modeled for us -- a modern day picture of Christ among the poor, the hope of many.
A Classic Conversion Story
By A2GJ98824GGXGP on 2003-11-02
Catholic faith fascinates people. How did her spiritual life develop, and how did it influence the remainder of her life? Many wonderful authors, including but not limited to people such as William Miller, Robert Coles, and most recently Paul Elie, have written extensively about Dorothy Day and help us understand this amazing and complex woman, but nothing is more rewarding than reading the writings of Day herself.THE LONG LONELINESS is a classic spiritual tome and is often referred to as Day's spiritual autobiography. In many ways it is similar to Thomas Merton's SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN, and it is easily a close second in popularity with many Catholics. Though Day's writing style is much drier than Merton's writing and her story is not quite as spellbinding as the artist and aspiring writer turned monk, the reader can sense God working powerfully in Day's life. If the book were published today, it would probably be categorized as a memoir, rather than an autobiography since day does not as much tell her story as reflect on how God called her to a life of faith. The book is a "must read" for anyone who loves and admires Dorothy Day. It is also a book that will interest people interested in religious social activism. Yet the book may speak most powerfully to those who are on a spiritual quest themselves, either knowingly or unknowingly.
Enriching Exploration of the Discovery of Faith
By A17X4B27GDCJEY on 2005-06-07
"The Long Loneliness," is one of the most enriching testimonies of an individual's search and discovery of faith that I have ever read, although I found the first 60 pages a bit slow (about her background and coming of age). I am very happy I persevered, because it only got better and more inspirational, as she began to perceive glimpses of God and tried to learn how best to follow Him.
Dorothy Day was a journalist who lived in the early 1900s and died in 1980. She was raised an agnostic. Her family did not practice a religion. Early in her life she attended churches with neighbors, and loved the feeling of communal worship, but felt discouraged by so many people who attended church only on Sunday and thought that was the end of their religious obligation to others.
An early memory that had a great impact on her was an earthquake during her childhood, in which the families who retained their houses opened their homes to those who had lost theirs, and the community banded together to help each other in brotherly love. She lived her life searching for this sense of community. During her college years she began an activist involved in political causes such as women's voting rights, and labor rights for women and children, and had sympathies with communist organizations, that, from her perspective, seemed to assist the needs of the poor more than any Christian church.
This is a conversion story, much similar to Thomas Merton's "Seven Story Mountain," but which inspired me much more than his good work. She felt an incredible need to worship God, so much that she believes that human beings have a deep psychological need to worship and when their devotion is misplaced on humans rather than the divine, it is a recipe for disaster. The First World War and the Great Depression was the background for her conversion. She worked as a nurse during the War and began attending church with a colleague, but latter returned to writing in an environment where there was less church, but she continued to pray.
She had a common law marriage with a man, whom she loved dearly, but when she became pregnant, she decided that she must have the child baptized so that her daughter would not experience the lack of spiritual support that caused her so much confusion and soul searching. She felt such great love durign her preganancy, that she believed she required a supernatural channel to channel the love. She had hoped to enter a church with her partner as a marriage before God, but he was adamantly opposed to religion and perceived it as a form of imperialism. She left him with her daughter, in order to follow a life that she believed would be pleasing to God. It was not an easy situation for her, as she had hoped for a traditional life, and being a single mother is never and easy vocation in any time period. The anguish she described when she reached the conclusion of what she must do was only a page but it moved me to tears. The situation that the decision evoked was not easy, but reaching the decision for her seemed to be a simple matter, because of her great faith. She wrote about it as occasionally God offers s the same proposition to us that he gave Abraham; to sacrifice something we love in pursuit of Him, whom we should love above all created things. She worte too, that staying with him felt natural, but that she was aspiring for a supernatural life, which requires different considerations when making decisions. I would like to hope that I would have the same faith and courage in a similar situation, but I don't know.
The time period following her separation was difficult for her, and she experienced loneliness, as she searched to discover what would be her niche in the world, according to God's plan. She believed that the antidote for loneliness is involvement in community life. She started the "Catholic Worker" with Peter Maurin (who she felt was sent to her by God as a response to her prayers for guidance in her vocational quest), a paper which reported about the injustices confronted by the poor and that presented articles of helpful advice for struggling families. The paper is still in existence.
She also started a hospitality house that offered food and shelter to those who need it, and a space where people can find a voice. Eventually a chain of such houses grew and now are operating not only across the US, but across the world. Some became retreat centers. Day's life is a perfect testimony of an individual discovering God's love and learning to return the love with faith, not only through worship to God, but also through offering love and help to others.
This is a great book for people seeking to understand what is faith and how does it move people, and a great book for people dealing with difficult situations in their lives when they are seeking to find what it is that they are meant to do with their lives. I recommend her story to every one.
Inspirational
By on 2001-02-06
Between this book and loaves and fishes, I have never been so touched by a single person's writings. I have friends who are all over the spiritual/political spectrum, and I try to get them all to read this book. Day's humility and honesty make for a beautiful work that chronicles her life from childhood, to radicalism, and eventually to the Catholic Worker Community (which ends the long lonliness). Such a beautiful work from such a beautiful person. If you want to be challenged, please buy this book.
The Origin of American Catholic Radicalism
By A3NXE78IQH4DU6 on 2002-02-20
Dorothy takes us step by step through the encounter of Catholic Christianity with the conditions that created reform, radical and unionist movements in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. We see at first hand the tension between reality and the values of an articulate female activist brought up in the Catholic tradition. Once you pick the book up, you won't be able to put it down.
- she should've stuck to being a social activist
By on 2002-08-17
I was required to read this book for school this summer and it was by far the worst book I have read in my life. Its only a 280 page book, but her style of writing makes it seem as if it was about a thousand. She fills the book with useless information (i.e. she writes an in depth account of a cover of a book her brother brought home one day and then wonders what it was about. That was completely pointless and failed to advance the plot at all.) Instead of sticking to the core story, which might have been interesting she rambles off about random occurences constantly.
- The Only Solution is Love
By A2ZHBGPYUOFTZG on 2000-12-10
Dorothy Day is an absolutely amazing woman, and should be a true inspiration for all Catholics concerned with social justice and care of the poor. The Long Loneliness is Day's autobiography. It details her life, from her childhood until her old age. The book describes how Day's growing concern for the poor leads to a growing inspiration in Catholicism, and how the mysteries of the church deepen her love for other people in her life. Her growing faith is, as to be expected, tinged with doubt, and through this doubt the reader can truly experience Day's humanity. Different experiences, such as her pregnancy, are developed so that readers can begin to see how different moments throughout her life make a profound impact on Day's life and work. In addition to the life of Day herself, this book provides an excellent reference in terms of the beginning points of the Catholic Worker movement. The Catholic Worker has developed houses of hospitality in various cities throughout the United States (135 today), which focus on works of mercy for anyone who needs assistance. The Long Loneliness provides an overview of the history of this movement, from its beginnings as a radical Catholic newspaper, to the founding of the early Houses of Hospitality, to attempts at farming which ultimately failed. Day's autobiography paints a life of Christian love, and is an outstanding work for anyone with a concern for developing a life filled with the richness of service to others.
- No Saint!
By A2YAZ2QYWNCK6Q on 2001-08-24
This is an honest and unadorned self-portrait. Ms. Day appears to have been one of those rare people whose own generosity and compassion and relentless energy served to inspire thousands of other to insist on a fully human life for themselves, and for their fellow citizens. A smoker, a drinker, a lover of food and sex--my kind of saint.
- A Worthy Read
By A3AOW3FA6INUUU on 2002-01-22
More than a story of the life of a great and determined woman, this book is really the story of the Catholic Worker movement. The purpose of Ms. Day's life, and the Catholic Worker movement, was to make the kind of society in which it is easier for people to be good.To that end, Ms. Day wrote of her life. I've often heard this book compared to Merton's Seven Storey Mountain. However, it does not show the level of introspection that one finds with Thomas Merton. This autobiography does touch on the personal level when Ms. Day speaks of her faith, her love of God and what that means to her. These portions of the book are worth reading and re-reading. Unfortunately, this is only about one quarter of the book. The remainder regards the Catholic Worker movement and Ms. Day's journey through communism, pacifism etc. In short, the book is more about utopia than it is about Ms. Day. Nonetheless, it is far more than a drab read about the socio-economic condition of man in the 20th century. I'm very glad that I've read this book, and I will read it again no doubt. If you have an interest in putting your faith into action, this book will inspire you. It should inspire, and for the most part it does. For that reason I recommend it.
- The Long Loneliness
By A2MSWQW6L9X18O on 2004-10-23
This book is Dorothy Day's own autobiography. I know she was a remarkable woman. Everything that I have seen and heard about her has been outstanding. I was excited when I found this book.
However, I felt disappointed by this book. It was rather boring and dry. Dorothy must have been very humble, because she writes about herself in a mundane fashion. It sounds like this is the diary account of her life. I guess she must not have realized how heroic she really was. She also experienced significant pain and isolation in her life, hence the title.
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