A Life in Light

Meditations on Impermanence

By: Mary Pipher

Narrated by: Jessica Garcie

Bloomsbury presents A Life in Light by Mary Pipher, read by Jessica Garcie.

A USA Today Must Read New Book

From the bestselling author of Women Rowing North and Reviving Ophelia—a memoir in essays reflecting on radiance, resilience, and the constantly changing nature of reality.

In her luminous new memoir in essays, Mary Pipher—as she did in her New York Times bestseller Women Rowing North—taps into a cultural moment, to offer wisdom, hope, and insight into loss and change. Drawing from her own experiences and expertise as a psychologist specializing in women, trauma, and the effect of our culture on our mental health, she looks inward in A Life in Light to what shaped her as a woman, one who has experienced darkness throughout her life but was always drawn to the light.

Her plainspoken depictions of her hard childhood and life’s difficulties are dappled with moments of joy and revelation, tragedies and ordinary miseries, glimmers and shadow. As a child, she was separated from her parents for long periods. Those separations affected her deeply, but in A Life in Light she explores what she’s learned about how to balance despair with joy, utilizing and sharing with readers every coping skill she has honed during her lifetime to remind us that there is a silver thread of resilience that flows through all of life, and that despite our despair, the light will return.

In this book, she points us toward that light.©2022 Mary Pipher (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

[A] gentle but radiant memoir.

Radiant essays about how joy and loss often coexist. . . To nudge readers toward building their own ‘transcendent narratives,’ Pipher braids in insights from her 25 years as a therapist, citing how acknowledging ‘evidence of growth’ in one’s story, regardless of how big or small, can open up pathways toward healing. Those struggling to overcome darkness will find a guiding light in this incandescent work.

For psychologist Pipher, the light found in nature, caring relationships, work, and books has always been the key to happiness. In this beautifully written memoir, her memories of childhood in Nebraska are vivid and poignant. . . . This lovely book teaches gentle lessons on gratitude and celebrating life.

Her relationship to the planet is primal and exuberant... [A] luminous and unflinching memoir.

A life story but also a homage to light... A beautifully written, quiet, contemplative memoir that many will enjoy.

A writer discovers herself in a new light... [Pipher] reflects on aging, loneliness, and happiness in a serene, gently told memoir. . . . Sensitive meditations from a ‘solar-powered’ writer.

With a nod to her Buddhist practice and, amid climate change, to the passing away of the world as we’ve known it, Mary Pipher describes experiencing light of all kinds—literal and metaphorical. In A Life in Light: Meditations on Impermanence, Pipher tells a story of sorrow and loss in which she has nevertheless experienced much joy, love, and worldly success.

In her incandescent new book, Mary Pipher shines a light on what really matters, and in doing so, she reflects our lives back at us with exquisite awareness. I was deeply moved by every page, laughing, crying, always reflecting on her words long after. She has given us all essential lessons on how to balance despair with a sense of wonder and inspires us to lead more light-filled lives.

Mary Pipher’s work, always illuminating, is especially so in this dazzling memoir with its focus on light and transcendence. Beautifully written, heartfelt and poignant, the book draws universal lessons from the rich details of Mary’s life. Her luminous spirit shines on every page.

Mary Pipher transforms her own turning points into life lessons that illuminate purpose, intention, and joy for all her readers.

In this memoir in essays, Mary Pipher reflects on her life with profound insight, unflinching honesty, and deep compassion for others—and herself—that will help all of us learn to live a life in light.

Mary Pipher is a beacon, a light-bearer, a bodhisattva. Her life stories illuminate ways to be calm, connected, resilient, and joyful, regardless of circumstances. A Life in Light offers hope and direction while nurturing the heart and soul, mind and spirit.

Very Inspiring

Somehow MP reminds me of Nabokov, the way she paints pictures in words: I am grateful to hear this and read this at this time in my life. I am Light and I am Water. <3

Disappointed

I am a Pipher fan. I have shared (over the years) uncountable copies of Another Country as well as others.
However,
this work was so saturated with adjectives that I thought myself at first drowning in them. Eventually, I was just really irritated by them.

It may have been reader but what i wassumed was a deep life (the books Pipher read alone reveals that!), came across as superficial and, dare i say, dull. This my opinion only; however, I repeat a disappointing read.

(FYI: I am a 79 year old woman. Pipher and I have lived in and through the same times.)

Read this book - Do Not Listen to it

I am an almost exclusively listener to books - more than 100 a year. A Life in Light is a beautiful memoir (I think) and one with a powerful, important and inspiring message. I have ordered a hard copy because I want to read it, and I could not continue to listen to the narration. It seemed that the narrator had not read the book ahead of time - placing emphasis on the wrong words or parts of a sentence, mispronouncing words and generally turning well written, complex sentences into trivial, adolescent drivel. The book is well worth reading so do not ruin it by listening to it.

Poorly Read

I found the story of Mary Pipher's life moving, but it was greatly diminished by a disjointed performance. The first person story of a woman now in her later years being read by a much younger person was very distracting. The reader paused in the wrong places and mispronounced so many words that I started looking them up, thinking that maybe I had been mispronouncing them all my life. By the end I was just tired of it.

Mary feels like a kindred spirit

I have read many of Mary Pipher’s books starting with The Shelter of Each Other. I thoroughly appreciated this look back at a life well lived as my own age has me doing this myself. It is nice to read about someone who has made peace with the rough spots in her life. Thank you for this glimpse into this letting go time in your life. I hope it will help me do so too.