• The Wonder Paradox

  • Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives
  • By: Jennifer Michael Hecht
  • Narrated by: Gail Shalan
  • Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Wonder Paradox  By  cover art

The Wonder Paradox

By: Jennifer Michael Hecht
Narrated by: Gail Shalan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.00

Buy for $25.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Religion once formed the rhythms and structures of society: marking time with calendars, carving out space for contemplation, creating connection, reinforcing legacy and morality. Now, for many, religion no longer runs the show. So where shall we find our magic? How do we celebrate milestones? Which texts can focus our attention but still offer space for inquiry, communion, and the chance to dwell for a dazzling instant in what can’t be said?

The answer, Jennifer Michael Hecht—the historian, poet, and bestselling author of Doubt—tells us, is poetry. In twenty chapters built from years of questions and conversation with those looking for an authentic and meaningful life, Hecht offers ways to excavate the useful aspects of tradition and to replace what no longer feels true.

Through cultures and poetic wisdom from around the world—Sappho, Rumi, Shakespeare, Issa, Tagore, Frost, Szymborska, Angelou, and others—she blends literary criticism with spiritual guidance rooted in the everyday.

Linking our needs to particular poems, she helps us better understand those needs, ourselves, and poetry. Our capacity for wonder is one of the greatest joys of being human; The Wonder Paradox celebrates that instinct and that yearning. Like Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, it promises to inspire generations.

©2022 Jennifer Michael Hecht (P)2022 Dreamscape Media

What listeners say about The Wonder Paradox

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant concepts, exquisitely written

I love the idea that, even if you do not believe in God, not having religious traditions to celebrate, big life, events and holidays can seem strange. I love her concepts of inventing your own rules for celebrating. I loved, listening to her thought process while she interpreted poetry.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Really slow with low entertainment.

Not funny. Not witty. Not insightful. Oh but the reviews require fifteen words. Like the author, much more than needed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!