From high atop a hill in his New Mexico home, Dean Rudoy surveys eight decades of "this hard, sweet life." Psychologist, teacher, activist, son, friend, he offers inspirational stories of indelible encounters with the extraordinary, arising from familiar and uncanny events alike.
Growing up with a necessary secret in a small Midwestern town, Rudoy awakens to the private yearnings of others. Troubled young men in a New York hospital struggle for clarity; children proclaim truths that adults have long forgotten; desert ravens attend an act of atonement; the touch of friends banishes pain; the departed make their presence felt. Small kindnesses offered to him by larger-than-life figures such as Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte, and Edward Kennedy adjoin meaningful gestures from migrant workers, aging parents, and thoughtful young people finding their way.
All are emissaries bearing the message that life is lived well, when lived with an open heart. Resounding throughout these stories is a deep reverence born of the author's conviction that all things in this world are connected in a matrix of meaning, that beneath the surface of all that we know there is a benevolent pattern unfolding that reveals itself in the appearance of miraculous coincidences, the approach of helpful emissaries, the arrival of healing epiphanies.
In his lucid, generous, and engaging style, Rudoy has written as much a guide for the perplexed as a memoir. Reading Emissaries is akin to walking along a country road with an old, reassuring friend.
About the Author :
Dr. Dean Rudoy is a psychologist, author, and speaker with 40 years of clinical experience and a lifetime devoted to understanding the enduring patterns of encounters that leave deep impressions on the warm wax of our lives. His work explores development across the lifespan, the quest for meaning, and the trials and triumphs we all bear as we brave this hard, sweet life. He is author of three books, including this his latest - Emissaries: Stories and Reflections (new edition) - a collection of 60 stories lived and lessons learned over the past three quarters of a century, which has been called "a quiet book for chaotic times". Dr. Rudoy is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, trained at the New York University-Bellevue Medical Center, and received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Fordham University. In addition to practicing, teaching, and writing about psychology, he has dedicated his life to advocacy in behalf of children, peace, social justice, and human rights - serving as consultant to national and international organizations and on various boards, including that of The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, on whose Board of Trustees he currently serves. Jack Canfield is best-selling author of The Success Principles and co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Review :
"I love this book. It's the closest thing to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book I've ever seen. A book about what's important in life. I encourage everyone to read it. I have bought copies and given them to friends as gifts. I think you might do the same." - Jack Canfield, best-selling co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series
"An immensely wise, thoughtful, and empathetic memoir ... a transformational experience." - Amazon reader
"This book is filled with compassion and grace." - Amazon reader
"A book rich with absorbing, insightful reflections on what it is to be human. This book gave me hope." - Amazon reader
"Read, pay attention, then re-read again. Who knows, it might just change your life." - Amazon reader
