Father Joe

The Man Who Saved My Soul

By: Tony Hendra

Narrated by: Tony Hendra

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

This runaway New York Times best seller is a book to savor and treasure. Author Tony Hendra, a National Lampoon and Spy magazine veteran and one of the world's greatest satirists, delivers a beautifully written, humorous, and profoundly moving memoir reminiscent of Tuesdays with Morrie.

At 14 years old, Tony began an affair with a married woman that ended when the jilted husband, a devout Roman Catholic, sent Tony to a Benedictine abbey. There, Tony met the remarkably kind and compassionate Father Joe. For the next four decades, Father Joe's guidance never faltered, even as Tony failed in marriage, fought substance abuse, and struggled to find meaning.

The New York Times says Father Joe "belongs in the first tier of spiritual memoirs ever written." It is a wondrous celebration of a saintly man, and it is impossible to forget.

©2004 Tony Hendra (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"The writing is certainly quite smart....[A] heartfelt tribute to a kind and wise teacher." (Kirkus Reviews)

One to remember

Oh my - what a beautiful story. I felt as if Father Joe were speaking to me. One of those "right on time" messages. I'm from the same era as Tony Hendra and remembered my own passage into adulthood having fully participated in the 60's and 70's. A must read.

I was moved to tears more than once....

This was one of the most moving and eloquent memoirs that I have ever read. I was aware of Tony Hendra as a former editor of National Lampoon, actor in "Spinal Tap" and raconteur of the 60's & 70's. So, although it came highly recommended, I was not really expecting much. This book was not a biography of Father Joseph Warrilow, or even a memoir of Tony's relationship with him, as it is a detailed account of Tony's spiritual journey and Father Joe's constancy as a friend and a spiritual father. I found Tony's journey as a liberal male sometimes and again Catholic to be entirely relevant to me, a conservative female Protestant. I was in tears more than once, not just for Tony but also for myself. I will not detail his journey in this review, because to do so would be to spoil the experience of sharing it with Tony as he tells it to you. I listened to the audiobook, and hearing Tony tell his story in his own voice was extraordinary. If you want to become a mentor, especially a spiritual mentor, or if you are struggling to hear God's voice above the cacophany of Western culture as we know it today, or if you think that organized religion only produces hypocrites, or if you simply need hope, to feel that there is something more than the material world, Someone greater than ourselves who is real and who can still be heard today, then you want to read, or better yet listen, to this book.

Father Joe

One of the best books I've ever read (heard). Everyone in their life should have a Father Joe. Wonderful story, makes you wish you could have met Father Joe and in some ways the book is so well written (spoken) you feel you have.

father Joe

It started weird...But if you stick with it...It is powerfull.

Agape love

From the moment I began listening and before I came to know who Tony Hendra is, I was struck by his skill as an artist with words. The book was recommended by the abbot of a local Benedictine monastery during a recent retreat. It is a beautiful story. Wherever one might be on his or her spiritual journey, Fr. Joe will touch the heart and uplift the soul. I am sure I will listen again.

Not what I expected, but enjoyable

This book was not what I expected, but I'm glad that I stuck with it. The author's life was very interesting, and the simple character of Father Joe was inspiring. I ended up buying a paperback version to give to a friend.

Loved it!

It was a powerful story of how a simple person can affect the lives of others through love. I thought it was beautifully told.

10 Hours Not Long Enough to Spend with Father Joe

How generous of Tony Hendra to introduce us to his friend and spiritual touchstone, Father Joe, a cloistered Benedictine Monk. Because Tony reads his book, he speaks in two voices, his -- and the voice of Father Joe which he mimics quite well-- there is never any confusion about who is talking. Their first conversation and meeting occurs after the "Teutonic/British" husband of an unhappy French woman drags 14-year-old Tony to the monastery so that Tony can explain why he is having a "torrid" affair with the professor's wife. Torrid for a pubescent teen - he confesses that he has gotten to 2nd base. Rather than condemning the boy to hell, and ordering him to pay penance, Father Joe kindly says: Tell me everything dear-- and gently listens. Over the next forty years, until this saintly man dies, we get to listen in to their interesting conversations, sympathize with Tony as he faces various personal and professional challenges, and then hear Father Joe's counsel. One example: around the age of 16, Tony falls in love with a statue of the Virgin Mary --and sneaks into the library at his school so that he can gaze adoringly at the photo in the art book. He confesses this to Father Joe. His penance? He must go out on a date with a pretty girl. A satirist who moved from England to the U.S., Tony was a top editor for National Lampoon, the precursor for Saturday Night Live. As someone who is a born entertainer and story teller, he decides that he wants to become more than an editor, he wants to become a writer. How lucky we are that he made this decision, and wrote this book for it is truly wonderful. I wish Father Joe was still alive...I would have liked to have meet him in person, though I feel fortunate that I got to meet him through Tony Hendra. Highly recommend --- Even if you do not think of yourself as religious or spiritual. Though religion is an element, love is the substrate. Erudite and witty, Tony conveys a hopeful, positive message. Recommend highl

Surprised by Joy

I walk the dog in the park a couple of times each day and had just bought my first MP3 player to listen to music as the dog took his time sniffing at everything. On a fluke, I decided to try an audiobook -- something I had never tried. I browsed through the website for something light and meaningless, mostly to listen to in 20 minute bursts. I wasn't very careful because I thought I had selected some best selling novel by an author I had never heard of, Tony Hendra.

This book grabs. The poor dog started getting several walks throughout the day so I could keep listening to what turned out to be a powerful autobiography of Hendra and a brilliant portrait of Father Joe. I finally sat down on the sofa and listened. Then after finishing the audiobook, I gave my player to my wife, who very reluctantly started to listen to it. She can't put it down.

I'm going to listen again after I give the book time to brew and stew in my mind. I read maybe twenty books a year and this is the best of the last 200 or so, even though I listened to it. It is beautifully written and well read by Hendra, himself.

Exceptional story of life, sin, faith, and death.

Tony Hendra tells you the story of his meeting Fr. Joe as a young man and how their continued friendship over the next 40 years would be the anchor that kept him from floundering on the stormy sea's of life.