Taking a Long Road Home

“Life must be lived forwards
but can only be understood backwards.”

—Søren Kierkegaard

Hello friends, Freudians sometimes refer to the interactions of parents and children as the family romance, surely an ironic term given the interplay between our common idea of romance and the dramatics of real families. And Tolstoy, hardly a paragon of familial success, said that all good families are good in the same way, while bad family relationships are bad in their own peculiar modes. As I think about the house at no. 933, 42nd Street, I find both Freud and Tolstoy pertinent.

Taking A Long Road Home traces interconnections between my life and my spirituality. It evolves in a contemplative way toward an inter-spiritual vision: Catholic-Buddhist-Taoist, the path of an ecumenical seeker. The story moves from my childhood among Italian immigrants to the Jesuit priesthood and life as a religion professor at Emory University. I describe people and ideas that shape my spirit life, from failed marriages to efforts as a reformer in a changing church. It’s an ongoing journey toward a home for body and spirit in the “nowness” of everyday life.

You can find our more about my memoir by clicking on the title list on the right. Best, Gene