I've read several of Brian Doyle's novels, one of my favorite being Martin Marten. This is a posthumous collection of Brian Doyle's essays that I keep on my bedside table to dip into when I need emotional comfort or inspiration. I'll steal a description from the book jacket that calls Doyle's writing "a balm." There is no longer an author web page for Doyle but it's easy enough to find information about him in such works as The Oregon Encyclopedia. I had the pleasure of hearing Brian Doyle speak at the bookstore in Sisters (Oregon) some years back and was just enthralled. He was clearly an extremely observant, funny, and compassionate being who could move the audience from laughter --when telling stories about growing up in a big Irish family or his twin boys for example-- to tears --when he talked about people less fortunate who need our attention and caring. The book itself is dedicated "to the overlooked and misunderstood, to compassion and grace that conquer all division." He focuses our attention on everyday events and helps us see them in new ways that evoke such emotions as joy, wonder, outrage, sadness, ferocity... He loves to play with words in a way that makes me smile--"fistcuffery" being one of my favorites. Some of my favorite essays from this book are:
The Final Frontier --about humility
Testimonio--a diatribe about pompous, preening, narcissistic arrogance (and the importance of humor)
On Not "Beating" Cancer--but instead enduring, surviving, wielding humor if possible, fearing as appropriate, dancing
An Leabharlann--about the value of libraries
The Bullet--against guns, manufacturers, gun defenders
Everyone Thinks That Awful Comes by Itself, But It Doesn't--self-explanatory
God--on finding God all around us
His Listening--among the many fine qualities his dad had, his ability to truly listen was most cherished
Read it and make your own list. Kirkus describes his writing by saying, "Doyle’s spirituality defies categorization. He was raised Catholic and does occasionally draw from that tradition, but his catechism isn’t comprised of doctrine or theology. Rather, ... Doyle employs the ordinary to catch the reflection of a world that is 'still stuffed with astonishments beyond our wildest imagining, which is humbling, and lovely, and maybe the only way we are going to survive ourselves and let everything else alive survive us too.'” Their final recommendation is "This brilliant compendium of spiritual musings will resonate with people of any faith—or of none." The NYT was effusive in their praise, for example: "Doyle was a writer 'made of love and song and amusement.' Every living thing intrigued him and was worthy of his powerful capacity for study and his equally powerful capacity for celebration."
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