Аннотация

Martin Buber, one of the twentieth century's most distinguished and creative thinkers, famously argued that the fundamental fact of human existence is person with person, and that practicing genuine dialogue is necessary for anyone who wishes to become authentically human. This book seeks to unleash and reassemble the core elements for practicing dialogue–turning and addressing, and then listening and responding. Despite what many say, the innermost growth of the self does not come in relation to one's self. Rather, attaining one's authentic human existence (one's innate self-realization) emerges again and again through genuine dialogue, through «participatory consciousness.» We become authentically human in and through our relationships with others. Here's the point–instead of having dialogues, human beings mutually become dialogue with others. Individual human beings in dialogue with one another become memorable mutualities found nowhere else, opening out into the world.

Аннотация

In A Life of Dialogue: Love Letters to My Daughters, one finds an honest, unflinching, and authentic voice that creates a unique outlook on multiple sclerosis. Kramer juxtaposes the quest for spiritual awakening with hiding from the effects of his MS. In so doing, he offers poignant insights into living with an illness that is even now too little understood. Composed of short autobiographical letters to his two daughters, Kramer gracefully connects the personal with the universal, and the devastating emotions of MS with the unfinished joys of parenting–each bringing glimpses of new light. His spirituality informs seemingly mundane interactions with a refreshing candor. Turning toward others, trusting what is given, and responding openly, led him to becoming uniquely human in each interaction. This book is written in an uplifting and surprising way. It finds essential humanity through documenting triumphs within a life of ever-narrowing confines.