Beyond

How Humankind Thinks About Heaven

By: Catherine Wolff

Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

A smart and thought-provoking cultural history of heaven.

What do we think of when we think about heaven? What might it look like? Who or what might be there?

Since humans began to huddle together for protection thousands of years ago, these questions have been part of how civilizations and cultures define heaven, the good place beyond this one. From Christianity to Islam to Hinduism and beyond, from the brush of Michelangelo to the pen of Dante, people across millennia have tried to explain and describe heaven in ways that are distinctive and analogous, unique and universal.

In this engrossing cultural history of heaven, Catherine Wolff delves into how people and cultures have defined heaven over the centuries. She describes how different faiths and religions have framed it, how the sense of heaven has evolved, and how nonreligious influences have affected it, from the Enlightenment to the increasingly nonreligious views of heaven today. Wolff looks deep into the accounts of heaven to discover what’s common among them and what makes each conception distinct and memorable. The result is Beyond, an engaging, thoughtful exploration of an idea that is central to our humanity and our desire to define an existence beyond death.

*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains recommendations for further reading - books the author returned to again and again in her extensive research.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2021 Catherine Wolff (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"[F]ull of absorbing detail...Ms. Wolff writes with clarity and style, and she attempts to understand each conception of heaven, however distant from her own Roman Catholic belief, on its own terms.” (Wall Street Journal) 

“Beautifully curated...a reassuring guide for the spiritually curious." (America Magazine) 

"Beautifully written, expertly researched and masterfully presented, this tour of how heaven has been understood throughout history is absolutely fascinating." (James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage) 

Knowledgeable Writer, Super-Dry Structure.

I preordered Beyond after hearing Catherine Wolff on The Liturgists podcast. On the podcast she was engaging, knowledgable and shared all kinds of anecdotes about how different faiths and individuals deal with the concept of the afterlife.

I couldn't make it through the 3rd chapter of the book. Instead of a narrative-driven exploration - Beyond's first few chapters were essentially an extended essay on the nature of the afterlife.

Certainly well-researched and informed, but lacking the engaging personality, anecdotes and narrative structure that Wolff had shared in her podcast appearance.

It's entirely possible that things picked up later in the book. I didn't make it that far.

I have no doubt that readers looking for a very long essay on human views of the afterlife will be satisfied. And I'd happily listen to every podcast Wolff has appeared on. But readers looking for a narrative, engaging structure in the book will be disappointed.