The New York Times #1 bestselling author of The Book of Awakening weaves a tapestry of deep reflection, memoir, and meditation to create a remarkable guide on how to listen to life and live more fully.
Known for his penetrating books on resilience and suffering, poet, philosopher, and cancer survivor Mark Nepo continues to go deeper into what matters and to sift the wisdom that comes from confronting and recovering from the physical and spiritual challenges of life. In Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, he offers new lessons and insights on the importance of giving our full attention to all that life has to offer.
Written in Nepo’s beautiful, lyrical style, Seven Thousand Ways to Listen traces the story of his own hearing loss while unfolding a deeper understanding of how to listen to the world around us and to honor its connections to our internal life and callings. A moving exploration of self and our relationship to others, the book unpacks the many ways we are called to redefine ourselves and to name what is meaningful as we move through the changes that come from experience and aging and the challenge of surviving loss. “Listening is the way we befriend the life we’re given,” Nepo writes, and he has structured the book around three lasting friendships: our friendship with wisdom, with experience, and with each other. By listening and tending to each, he explains, we can awaken to life and restore our vitality.
Filled with helpful instructions on how to return to what matters throughout the day, this enlightening book explores the many chances we have to listen and to be enlivened by what we hear. Ultimately, Nepo teaches us how to act wholeheartedly, so we can inhabit the gifts we are born with and find the language of our own wisdom.
Download and start listening now!
“This profound and lyrical book teaches us the lost art of listening. And as we learn to listen, we open to the myriad voices of life and the silent mysteries of the soul and begin to sense the truth of being alive. Mark Nepo’s words are always like choice wine for the soul, to be sipped slowly, allowing their flavor into all the secret places of our being. Beneath and between his words we can hear this greatest wonder we call life. This is the real gift of this wonderful book.”
— Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Sufi teacher and author, Prayer of the Heart
“Nepo has mastered a unique way of inviting the reader into a meditative state while reading his sublime wisdom about everyday life. I found his work a comfort—and thats a rare find these days.”
— Caroline Myss, author of Entering the Castle and Defy GravityNepo’s background as a poet shines through in his writing, which can be truly beautiful…Given the subject matter though, a little complexity is to be expected and, in this case, enriches the reader’s experience.”
— Booklist“A meditative approach to silencing the world’s noise…Nepo provides thorough methods for reaching deeper into the inner self.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Written in short segments, this is a book you can put down and pick up again as desired without losing the train of thought. While not overly inspiring, it nevertheless prompts the reader to slow down. A pleasant read. "
— Gloria, 12/10/2013" I couldn't get into this. He was trying to be sincere, but I just didn't connect with him. "
— John, 1/13/2013Mark Nepo is a poet, philosopher, and author of thirteen books, including The Book of Awakening, a New York Times bestseller. Some of his other work includes Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, As Far as the Heart Can See, Unlearning Back to God, and The Exquisite Risk. Mark has appeared with Oprah Winfrey on her Super Soul Sunday program and has been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. He lives in southwest Michigan.