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Leaving Alexandria

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( 529 ratings, 101 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Leaving Alexandria by Richard Holloway is an introspective memoir exploring the author's journey from his upbringing in a religious community to his evolving views on faith and doubt. Through insightful recounting, Holloway examines his struggles with religious certainty and his quest for a more personal understanding of spirituality, ultimately reflecting on the complex and often paradoxical nature of belief.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are fascinated by personal transformations within the context of faith and spirituality. Richard Holloway reflects on his life, examining how doubt and belief coexist and evolve. It's a thought-provoking memoir for anyone interested in the journey of spiritual discovery and the courage to question one's convictions.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

At fourteen, Richard Holloway left his working-class home north of Glasgow and travelled hundreds of miles to an English monastery to be trained for the priesthood. By twenty-five, he had been ordained and was working in the slums of Glasgow.

In 2000 he controversially resigned as Bishop of Edinburgh, having lost heart with the Church over its condemnation of homosexuality. In his years as a priest, Richard touched many lives, but behind his confident public face lay a mind troubled by questions. Why is the Church, which claims to be the instrument of God's love, so prone to cruelty and condemnation? And how can a person live with the tension between public faith and private doubt?

With this long-awaited memoir, Richard gives us a wise, poetic and fiercely honest book that recounts a fascinating life - and attempts to answer those questions.

Leaving Alexandria is an exploration of faith, doubt, and the internal struggles that accompany a life of religious devotion, making it a profound and moving read.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Leaving Alexandria by Richard Holloway is praised as a poignant memoir that reflects on the challenges and complexities of religion with intelligence and wit. It presents a deeply personal journey through life, offering candid insights and reflections on the imperfect world we inhabit. The book is celebrated for its thought-provoking narrative and the engaging nature of Holloway's humane and reflective mind.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781921922022

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 February 2012

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 29.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 438g

Pages: 408

About the Author

Richard Holloway is the author of Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human, Doubts and Loves: What is Left of Christianity?, Godless Morality, Looking in the Distance, On Forgiveness: How Can We Forgive the Unforgiveable, and Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible.

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  • On Reflection
    In On Reflection, Richard Holloway thinks back on some of the questions that have shaped his life, sharing the wisdom of poets, writers, musicians, and artists he has encountered along the way. How can we forgive? Where does creativity come from? How can we face loss and death? How can we live a good life? How do we find beauty...
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  • Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human
    Provocative, wide-ranging and full of wisdom, Between the Monster and the Saint is a brilliant book about our place in the world. Being human isn't easy. We might think that consciousness and freedom will give us control over our lives, but our minds are dangerous and unpredictable places. We are susceptible to forces we don't understand. We are capable of...
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  • On Reflection
    In On Reflection, Richard Holloway thinks back on some of the questions that have shaped his life. Here, then, are the big asks: is there a God? How can we forgive? Where does creativity come from? How can we face loss and death? How can we live a good life? And how do we find beauty in the world? To...
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  • A Little History of Religion
    A rich and inclusive history of belief, from humanity's earliest days to our own times Religion is distinctly human. We can't help wondering about where we come from and why we are here. Did some all-powerful being make the universe? When we die, is there anything else to come? And what will it be like? Questions like these have occupied...
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  • The Heart of Things
    Richard Holloway is one of our most beloved public thinkers. Throughout his life he has turned to poets and writers to help answer the big questions, and for solace and guidance in the face of life's challenges. Now he shares those poems and words which have been his own guide, offered in the hope they will help us too. The...
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  • The Heart of Things
    Richard Holloway is one of our most beloved public thinkers. As Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he put principle over Church policy to advocate for gay rights and women in the priesthood. He never shied away from confronting his own doubts and fears, whether questioning his own faith or facing the inevitability of death. Across...
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  • Waiting for the Last Bus
    Now in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. A positive and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn, this is also a stirring plea to reacquaint ourselves with death. Doing so gives us the chance to...
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  • Stories We Tell Ourselves
    Throughout history, we have told ourselves stories to try and make sense of our place in the universe. Richard Holloway takes us on a personal, scientific, and philosophical journey to explore what he believes are the answers to the biggest questions. He examines what we know about the universe into which we are propelled at birth and from which we...
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  • A Little History of Religion
    “For readers in search of a thoughtful, thorough, and approachable survey of the history of religion, this book is an excellent place to start.” —Booklist Written for those with faith and for those without—and especially for younger readers—A Little History of Religion sweeps us through the story of religion in our world, from the dawn of religious belief to the...
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  • Last Words
    Richard Holloway has been the archetypal 'turbulent priest'. Having risen to be the Primus (Head) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he abandoned religion and ecclesiastical office to fight for the rights of minorities and to write a string of best-selling books, most famously Leaving Alexandria. He also became Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council. In this, his last book, Last...
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