Norris plunges bravely into depths of spiritual ennui

By Kurt Armstrong and ChristianWeek | June 5, 2009

Acedia (pronounced uh-SEE-dee-uh) means the absence of care, bored restlessness, "the noonday demon." To 4th century monks acedia was the worst of the "Eight Bad Thoughts," but it got lumped in with "sloth" when those eight bad thoughts became the seven deadly sins. Today we might simply call it depression. But Norris's gorgeous, wise and deeply personal book tells us acedia is a complex spiritual matter, not just a mental health issue.

Norris probes deeply into her own struggles with acedia and clinical depression, her husband's mental and physical illnesses, and their 31 years together. The lens through which she reads her life is the writings of early Christian monks, starting with desert fathers and mothers of the 4th century. Norris weaves her personal narrative in and out of the writings—monks' wisdom and stories—ancient words which leap across 1,700 years with poignancy.

Norris has plenty of wise things to say even when she's not quoting monks. She gives clear thoughts on the state of our culture and the state of our souls. Her tone is pastoral and loving, but she does not hedge when she describes our culture-wide struggle with acedia.

It works extremely well. There is nothing fluffy or trite about Norris or her book. Her faith, like her marriage, is clearly a struggle, but the more intimate her writing, the more deeply it connects. She doesn't offer a cure, but invites us into wisdom that can heal.

Rather than looking for something new to take us out of acedia, the wisdom of monks encourages us to stay put and plunge more deeply into the mundane and the everyday. Routines, rituals, practices, habits: though we Protestants have largely abandoned these as "religious trappings," Norris shows us they are essential to living well. Love, she says, comes through faithfulness; the self emerges through commitment; faith comes through practice.

Norris writes of unfashionable concepts like discipline, commitment, obedience, even sin—and in doing so, goes much deeper than a self-help book for the depressed. Though not written specifically for a Christian audience, everything she writes reflects the depth of her faith. This is an excellent book from a wise, generous soul.