How to Make Decisions that Lead to an Authentic Life
"In Living Against the Grain, Muldoon offers a field-tested strategy for those facing a time of transition to help them discern their deepest desires and discover their true purpose in and for this world. Each chapter focuses on a crucial aspect of decision making, such as traveling the unpaved road, discovering your calling, finding inner freedom, and loving authentically." - Loyola Press
Listening for the Voice of Vocation
"'Is the life I am living the same as the life that wants to live in me?' With this searching question, Parker Palmer begins an insightful and moving meditation on finding one's true calling. Let Your Life Speak is an openhearted gift to anyone who seeks to live authentically." - Book Jacket
The Purpose and Passion of Work
"In Callings, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay presents unforgettable stories from people doing what they love. Some are paid well for their work, others not at all; some found their paths at a very young age, others later in life; many overcame great odds or upturned their lives in order to pursue what matters to them. These stories were collected over the past two years as part of a national outreach campaign, a first for StoryCorps, and most have never been published or broadcast until now." - Publishers Weekly
At This Time and In This Place:
"Essential reading for reminding us of the integrative value of higher education. Toward helping students thrive during college and beyond, Cunningham and colleagues offer critical perspectives on how we can incorporate vocational exploration, reflection, and discernment within the undergraduate experience, and why it is essential that we do so." - Jennifer A. Lindholm, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University of California, Los Angeles
Toward a New Understanding of Vocation in the Liberal Arts
by Kaethe Schwehn and L. DeAne Lagerquist
"Kaethe Schwehn and L. DeAne Lagerquist offer perspectives from fourteen professors at St. Olaf College on the value of vocation, showing how a focus on one's calling rather than on success or credentials paves the way for the civic good sought by defenders of liberal arts education. The essays in this volume exemplify the reflective practices at the heart of liberal arts, for faculty and students alike." - Publishers Weekly
A New Vocabulary for Higher Education
"This volume makes a compelling case for vocational reflection and discernment in undergraduate education today, arguing that it will encourage faculty and students alike to venture out of their narrow disciplinary specializations and to reflect on larger questions of meaning and purpose." - Publishers Weekly
Why Colleges Must Talk to Students about Vocation
"College students these days forgo the big questions about who they are and how they can change the world and instead focus single-mindedly on their economic survival. In The Purposeful Graduate, Tim Clydesdale elucidates just what a tremendous loss this is...he shows that it doesn’t have to be this way: higher education can retain its higher cultural role, and students with a true sense of purpose—of personal, cultural, and intellectual value that cannot be measured by a wage—can be streaming out of every one of its institutions."
- Publishers Weekly
Helping College Students Find Purpose:
The Campus Guide to Meaning Making
by Robert Nash and Michele C. Murray
"Educators across campuses--faculty and administrators alike--will find in this book not only the importance of helping their students construct meaning upon which to base their academic and life ambitions, but also practical suggestions for doing so."
- Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, Executive Director, NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
The Journey Toward An Undivided Life
"Here he speaks to our yearning to live undivided lives--lives that are congruent with our inner truth--in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. Mapping an inner journey that we take in solitude and in the company of others, Palmer describes a form of community that fits the limits of our active lives." - Publishers Weekly
It's Not About Finding a Job, It's About Creating a Life
"Reilly, president of a talent management firm, interviews some of today's most celebrated entrepreneurs, business owners, technology experts, educators, artists, and philanthropists in America to look for themes and commonalities in their successes in this tough economic climate. He shares insights from leaders...to argue that if there is a blueprint for success, it is in relentlessly following one's personal passion, linking it to social justice, and embracing philanthropy, thereby creating not only meaningful work but also a meaningful personal life." - Publishers Weekly
Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
"Crossing the Unknown Sea is about reuniting the imagination with our day to day lives. It shows how poetry and practicality, far from being mutually exclusive, reinforce each other to give every aspect of our lives meaning and direction. For anyone who wants to deepen their connection to their life’s work—or find out what their life’s work is—this book can help navigate the way." - Publishers Weekly
God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future
"In this insightful and compelling book, Dr. Dan B. Allender shows you how to read the stories of your life. He helps you understand the meaning that God has written into every detail of who you are. As a result, you can share your story with others and listen to their story, revealing unique aspects of God’s hand at work." - Publishers Weekly
Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation
by William C. Placher
"This unprecedented anthology gathers select passages on work and vocation from the greatest writers in Christian history. William Placher has written insightful introductions to accompany the selections — an introduction to each of the four main historical sections and a brief introduction to each reading. While the vocational questions faced by Christians have changed through the centuries, this book demonstrates how the distilled wisdom of these saints, preachers, theologians, and teachers remains relevant to Christians today."
- Publishers Weekly
What We Should Do and Who We Should Be
by Mark R. Schwehn and Dorothy C. Bass
"Leading Lives That Matter draws together a wide range of texts---including fiction, autobiography, and philosophy---offering challenge and insight if you're thinking about what to do with your life. Instead of prescribing advice, Schwehn and Bass approach the vocational process as an ongoing conversation. They include in this conversation some of Western tradition's best writings on human life---its meaning, purpose, and significance---ranging from ancient Greek poetry to contemporary American fiction​." - Publisher
Reimagining Work, Self, and Relationship
"Our current understanding of work-life balance is too simplistic. The ways we think about our work, relationships and inner selves seem to frustrate and exhaust us. In The Three Marriages, David Whyte, the bestselling author, poet and speaker asks us to think about them in a radically different way by drawing them into a mutually supportive conversation. According to Whyte, we humans are involved not just with one marriage with a significant other. We also have made secret vows to our work and unspoken vows to an inner, constantly developing self." - Publisher
Heeding Your Life's Calling
by Richard J. Leider and David Shapiro
"Everyone wants to live a life that enables them to make the most of their unique gifts, interests, and passions-to find their true calling, the work they were born to do. Whistle While You Work is a liberating guide that uses powerful stories and exercises to help readers find truly satisfying, fulfilling work consistent with their deepest values. The authors combine a thoughtful and practical discussion about calling with examples showing how to apply these ideas to one's life."
- Publisher
Mentoring Emerging Adults in their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith
"Scholarly, wise, elegant, and deeply insightful, this book is . . . for all who work with people in the awe and angst-filled years between 18 and 32. . . . Upcoming generations have fateful choices to make that we need them to take up faithfully and fully awake. Parks, a master teacher, lights the way--theirs and ours." - Diana Chapman Walsh, President Emerita, Wellesley College; Board Chair, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
A Personal Journey to Discern a Life's Calling
"Many people are searching for their authentic purpose, their sacred calling, as they seek a vocation that stretches them to their true identity. Quincy Brown offers readers the opportunity to share a pilgrimage that is both personal to himself and applicable to a wide audience. He uses his own dramatic story, stories from other people, and stories from literature, including the Bible, to invite reflection and inspiration that enable his readers to pay attention and then to discern, respond, and follow the calling of the divine voice."
- Publisher
The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO:
A Remarkable Story About Living Your Heart's Desires
"Jack Valentine is having a very bad day. He's chronically unhappy, unfulfilled and broke; his girlfriend has left him; and he's just been hit by a truck. Still, when he wakes up in a hospital covered in bruises, he's certain it's all happening for a reason. As Jack recovers, his dying hospital roommate, who happens to be Jack's long-lost father, imparts some final advice: the only three questions that matter are whether one has lived wisely, loved well and served greatly. He sends Jack on a journey around the world to meet three teachers (the saint, surfer and CEO), who guide him through a spiritual transformation and help him answer the three questions." - Publisher Weekly
One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia
"An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change." - Publisher
A Path Appears:
Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity
by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
"A Path Appears offers practical, results-driven advice on how best each of us can give and reveals the lasting benefits we gain in return. Kristof and WuDunn know better than most how many urgent challenges communities around the world face today. Here they offer a timely beacon of hope for our collective future." - Amazon
Designing Your Life:
How to Build a Well-Lived Joyful Life
by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
"In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise." - Amazon
Mindset, The New Psychology of Success:
How We Can Learn to Fulfill our Potential
"After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment." - Amazon
Noble Purpose:
The Joy of Living a Meaningful Life
"This book describes the personal and spiritual benefits of living life in a way that matters, with an awareness that one's life can reflect a sense of higher purpose no matter what the circumstances. The book draws upon religious, philosophical, and literary writings to show how humans in many cultures and historical epochs have pursued noble purposes by answering God's call as each hears it. Noble purpose can be pursued both in heroic acts and in everyday behavior. The book shows how ordinary people—teachers, business professionals, parents, citizens—can ennoble what they do by being mindful of its deepest meaning." - Amazon
The One Life We're Given:
Finding the Wisdom that Waits in Your Heart
"...Nepo—popular spiritual teacher and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awakening—crafts a new road map for the soul’s journey. It is “a powerful guide to being in the world without being overwhelmed by it. Profound and poignant stories and insights help us survive what life brings us, and to thrive,” says Arianna Huffington. The One Life We’re Given "shares how to shape the life of the soul, and make sense of pain, fear, and loss, as well as surprise, beauty, and wonder” (Library Journal)." - Amazon
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do
"In this inspirational, affirmative book, Morin expands upon her original message, providing practical strategies to help readers avoid the thirteen common habits that can hold them back from success. Combining compelling anecdotal stories with the latest psychological research, she offers strategies for avoiding destructive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors common to everyone." - Goodreads
Option B:
Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
"Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B. We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it." - Amazon
Meditations of the Heart
"Meditations of the Heart is a beautiful collection of meditations and prayers by one of our greatest spiritual leaders. Howard Thurman, the great spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God. This collection of fifty-four of his most well-known meditations features his thoughts on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life. Within this collection are words that sustain, elevate, and inspire. Thurman addresses those moments of trial and uncertainty and offers a message of hope and endurance for people of all faiths." - Amazon
Radical Hope:
Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times
"Radical Hope is a collection of letters—to ancestors, to children five generations from now, to strangers in grocery lines, to any and all who feel weary and discouraged—written by award-winning novelists, poets, political thinkers, and activists. Provocative and inspiring, Radical Hope offers readers a kaleidoscopic view of the love and courage needed to navigate this time of upheaval, uncertainty, and fear, in view of the recent US presidential election." - Amazon
Disciplines of The Spirit
"Dr. Howard Thurman (1900-1981)--minister, educator, philosopher, and poet--explores five major dimensions of the spiritual life: commitment, growing in wisdom and stature,suffering, prayer, and reconciliation." - Amazon
Answering Why:
Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations
"Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations is based on Mark’s work with educational organizations and businesses across North America, alongside his personal experience as the father of two Millennials. As a strategic consultant, he delivers many keynote speeches throughout the country each year and coaches his clients on recruiting, retaining, and motivating the younger generations to greater performance in their educational programs and careers. Through this new book, you can experience the power of these strategies for the challenges and opportunities presented by today’s younger generations." - Publisher
Hearing Vocation Differently:
Meaning, Purpose, and Identity in the Multi-Faith Academy
"In this third volume on vocation from editor David S. Cunningham, the thirteen contributing scholars identify with a wide variety of religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Some contributors identify with more than one of these; others would claim none of them. The authors met on multiple occasions to read common texts, to discuss agreements and differences, and to respond to one another's writing; some of these responses are included at the end of each chapter. Both individually and collectively, these contributors expand the range of vocational reflection and discernment well beyond its traditional Christian origins. The authors observe that all undergraduate students--regardless of their academic field, religious background, or demographic identity-need to make space for reflection, to overcome obstacles to discernment, and to consider the significance of their own narratives, beliefs, and practices. This, in turn, will require college campuses to re-imagine their curricular and co-curricular programming in order to support their students's reflection on issues of meaning, purpose, and identity." - Oxford University Press
Reboot:
Leadership and the Art of Growing Up
"Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed - molding them into highly accomplished individuals - yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Now, this venture capitalist turned executive coach shares his unusual yet highly effective blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial straight talk to help leaders overcome their own psychological traumas. Reboot is a journey of radical self-inquiry, helping you to reset your life by sorting through the emotional baggage that is holding you back professionally and, even more important, in your relationships." - Goodreads
Journeys to Purpose:
The Discover Stories Project
Edited by Sheila M. Kennedy, Ph.D. and Br. Philip Johnson, FSC
"The DISCOVER Stories Project is an anthology of life stories written by Lewis University faculty and staff, each exploring how they discovered and cultivated their unique calling. The authors examine their aspirations, talents, formative experiences, and the people and events that most influenced their sense of calling for their work and lives. Their inspiring narratives offer useful ways to understand and respond to our own desires, talents, and circumstances—helping to navigate the journey for a life rich with purpose and meaning."
- Dr. Sheila Kennedy
Do It Anyway:
The New Generation of Activists
"If you care about social change but hate feel-good platitudes, Do It Anyway is the book for you. Courtney Martin's rich profiles of the new generation of activists dig deep, to ask the questions that really matter: How do you create a meaningful life? Can one person even begin to make a difference in our hugely complex, globalized world?"
- Goodreads
The Twenty-something Soul: Understanding the Religious and
Secular Lives of American Young Adults
by Tim Clydesdale and Kathleen Garces-Foley
Today's twentysomethings have been labeled the "lost generation" for their presumed inability to identify and lead fulfilling lives, "kidults" for their alleged refusal to "grow up" and accept adult responsibilities, and the "least religious generation" for their purported disinterest in religion and spirituality. These characterizations are not only unflattering -- they are wrong. The Twentysomething Soul tells an optimistic story about American twentysomethings by introducing readers to the full spectrum of American young adults, many of whom live purposefully, responsibly, and reflectively. Some prioritize faith and involvement in a religious congregation. Others reject their childhood religion to explore alternatives and practice a personal spirituality. Still others sideline religion and spirituality until their lives get settled, or reject organized religion completely. - Amazon
by Mary Oliver
"A prolific writer of both poetry and prose, Oliver publishes a new collection every year or two. Her main themes continue to be the intersection between the human and the natural world, as well as the limits of human consciousness and language in articulating such a meeting." - Poetry Foundation
River Flow:
By David Whyte
David Whyte "illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership." - Goodreads
Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong
"John's writings emerging from this period of study and reflection illuminated with deep and critical compassion our innate human hunger to belong within the physical and mental landscapes that we mysteriously inhabit." - Ann Cahill
Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead
by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner
"Leading from Within offers a candid view straight into the heart and soul of leaders striving to do good and effective work in the world. The poems and commentaries remind us that leadership is always deeply personal and chock-full of dilemmas that must be addressed by creativity, passion, imagination, and courage." - Jeff Swartz, president and CEO, Timberland
The Living Fire
“Throughout The Living Fire we find work rooted in the old-fashioned concept of the poem as a tool for discovery, whether the subject lies in the self or our shared world. When a Hirsch poem strikes its mark, you feel the utter necessity of its impulse: language unveiling the lived moment.”– Steven Ratiner, The Washington Post
See additional resources listed in the Vocation Resources Library @ Lewis Library.