Reviews for Only connect

The average rating for Only connect based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-03-23 00:00:00 Lori A Dupras This is a brilliant book. Immediately upon beginning it I felt a slight disappointment about how short it seemed; five chapters and thin enough to throw in one’s purse. But soon I realized that there was more brilliance in the 112 pages preceding me than many of the books on spirituality, personal growth, or death and dying I’ve read in the past few years. Helen Luke is a true Jungian in her use of literature to illustrate archetypal themes and stages of development along the human journey. I appreciated her references to Jung’s work and her articulation of elements of the journey towards wholeness such as owning one’s shadow, integrating the masculine and feminine, shedding one’s ego, and transforming pain into (the wisdom of) suffering. Though it is evident she is a strong academe, her writing is elegant rather than pretentious. I found myself re-reading sentences and paragraphs and enthusiastically challenged by her pertinent and depthful insights. I was particularly struck by her concept of consciously “growing old”, rather than being dragged into the despair of “getting old”. “What”, one might ask, “does someone MY age have to get out of this?”, if you are not later on in years. My answer is precisely what you would get out of any other excellent book on personal and spiritual growth and development…messages about the importance of letting go; releasing the desire and attachment of ego and giving in to the weightless emptiness of a space in which the Divine may enter: “At every age, in every person, there comes a partial imprisonment, a disabling psychic wound, an unavoidable combination of circumstances, a weakness that we cannot banish, but must simply accept”. The book is about aging, but its lessons of wisdom apply to any stage of growth in life. If you are one who is loathe to face the subject of aging; of death, of letting go, give yourself a chance to let Helen Luke eloquently guide you through some of history’s greatest literature and the wisdom of poets to illuminate you to the paradox that you are alone yet not alone; empty yet whole…and to the knowledge that it is in our embrace of dying (letting go) that we truly live.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-04-24 00:00:00 Maurice Ylner 4.5 stars I am no Jungian scholar or disciple, so some of the context was lost on me in these essays by Helen M. Luke. I didn't realize that these would be literary essays, but they are so much more than that. They are discourses, almost sermons. I plan to find a copy of this so I can come back to it and mark it up. It was too much to digest in one sitting. I loved The Odyssey epilogue and now find I will need to read The Tempest ASAP. Here are the literary works she uses in this book: The Odyssey King Lear The Tempest (by far the longest in this book) Little Gidding And then a final discourse on suffering. If you are interested in the intersection of literature and spiritual transcendence (e.g. through Religion or Jungian studies), you will probably find this book rewarding. Others will likely be bored to tears. I do recommend reading the works above before reading the corresponding essays but it is not strictly necessary.