This entire book made me think of St. Paul’s, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has waiting for those who love Him.” How could a book about darkness contain so much light? Perhaps it is partially exemplified by the book’s cover of black trees against a midnight blue sky. Strange though it seems, in total darkness, how is that we still ‘see’?Dr. May combines his 25 years of psychiatric medical practice with a deep appreciation for the poetry and personalities of John of the Cross and...

I'm a dark night of the soul junkie, if there is such a thing--I have more books on the dark night than King Arthur stories, if you can believe that! But this treasure by Gerald May, subtitled A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection between Darkness and Spiritual Growth, is far and away the best I've ever read. I've spent the morning rereading and copying out passages, and my heart is fluttering with excitement. I so admire how May has studied both the lives and writings of Teresa of Avila and St...

The writings of St. John and St. Theresa can be hard to digest for two reasons. Their writings are hundreds of years old and in Spanish. They were poets and saints, so their wording is not easily translated into English while maintaining it's original nuances and mystical meaning. What Dr. May does is break down the basic map of their spiritual journeys without getting hung up on debatable meanings. He explores St. Theresa's Interior Castle and compares it to St. John's Dark Night of the Soul. H...

As a spiritual director, I found ‘The Dark Night of the Soul,’ by Psychiatrist Gerald G. May, M.D. incredibly helpful for the work of discernment between spiritual, philosophical, and scientific psychology. I wish I could give it more than five stars!The author beautifully weaves St. John of The Cross’s ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ to St. Teresa of Avila’s ‘Interior Castle,’ and shows the reader how these two saints “demonstrate an understanding of human psychology that seems uncanny for their era.

I picked this book up over 3 years ago and started it then. At the time it was interesting but I wasn't ready for it. A week ago I picked it up again. Some books we are really receptive to them only in certain stages or circumstances of our lives.I found it challenging and it gave a counter reading of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila suggesting that we should not see their writings about the spiritual journey in linear sequential terms. What was most convicting was the closing section which...

I read this thinking it was going to give me some insight about how depression can link us closer to our soul but found there was MUCH MORE to this book. My brief synopsis is that Gerald May (basing on John of the Cross and Teresa of Aliva 16th century writing) provides insights into how we can find God in our selves. This is incredibly thought provoking and I know I will buy this book and add it to my library and read it many more times.

Two books considered to be among the top Christian books of all time, include Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and Interior Castles by St. Teresa of Avila, both Christian mystics from the 16th century. I have read the latter and have long had the former on my “to read” list. This book by Gerald May makes more accessible for contemporary readers the timeless truths discovered by these ancient lovers of God. This book has been on my shelf for a couple of years. I was waiting to read...

I have enjoyed reading the works of Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross in the past few years, so when I saw this book I was excited to read it. May is a psychologist and analyzes the work of John and Theresa from a contemporary psychological perspective. He shows that these spiritual writers from long ago are not just engaging in esoteric mumbo-jumbo but are actually deeply in touch with the human condition. I highly recommend this book. If you have wanted to read some of those medieval myst...

I highly recommend Dr. May's book to those who wish to understand what God may be doing in their lives that doesn't seem to make sense and may even be painful to endure.I tried to read the original "Dark Night of the Soul" by the 16th-century Spanish poet and Roman Catholic mystic, Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591) at least three times. I always get bogged down in the Mediaeval Catholic theology which, for me, doesn't reflect the Jesus of the New Covenant.Dr. May helped me understand, what I n...

Gerald May offers an easy-to-follow overview of the lives and major spiritual contributions of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Perfect primer for anyone interested in who these two were and how their insights are relevant for today. May also offers his own insights as a psychologist, psychiatrist, spiritual director, and fellow struggler on the path. One idea in particular that has helped me is May's insistence that the 'dark night of the soul' is not a one-time experience, but rather a w...

This was not the book I was expecting, but I think it was actually better. I am not usually big on Carmelites or contemplative prayer. They confuse me. This book made sense. It helped apply concrete terms and organization to something I thought was much more ambiguous, difficult to grasp, and vaguely New Age-sounding but not actually New Age. I hope to be able to revisit this book in the future and take a deeper dive. Then maybe I can move on to Teresa and John's original writing, and in Spanish...

Reflecting on the writings of Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, Dr. May offers a detailed look at the purpose and meaning of the dark night of the soul. It is a sensitive and positive look at this oft-misunderstood moment of spiritual growth, with insights from the fields of modern psychiatry and psychology. I appreciated that he approached the topic with a large dose of necessary humility, more as a guide than an instructor.

This book contained so much thoughtful material. It doesn't give solutions to going through struggling times, it changes the paradox. There are no easy steps to follow -- rather a much more difficult imperative that we have to learn how to "be" with God. Truly learning how to sit at Jesus' feet as Mary did.

I'm newly open to re-exploring lots of spiritual questions and this book, bare minimum, would be of service to anyone looking to do the same general thing. It didn't send me to the heights of religious ecstasy or anything, but May does a good job simplifying the work of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross plus explaining its lasting vitality for we of the 20th-21st centuries. I've always been intrigued by Catholic/Christian mysticism and this whet my appetite to study the subject even more. Wh...

Reading "The Dark Night of the Soul" has been a profound, thought-provoking experience. Author May shows us the opportunity to seek spiritual growth not only during times of deep suffering, but also during times of vague or obscure discomfort--important but quiet moments that are easily overlooked in our hectic, cluttered lives. He does this using his own enlightening interpretations of the work of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross that make these saints more accessible and relevant to our m...

Gerald May is one of my favorite contemporary authors on spirituality, and this book is no exception. He tackles the hard spiritual topic of the dark night of the soul from his perspective, and gives excellent explanations for current day. For anyone seeking to understand this concept, who thinks they might be experiencing a spiritual dark night, read this book!

I'm going to keep this little book handy for when I'm feeling steamrolled by powerful people. For such a long time, I believed that I was wrong to see a different reality. Dr. May seems to think that I'm a lot more credible than the mainstream accepts. (So, call me an artist, and everybody's happy.)

Very clear--deceptively simple--but far from simplistic this really suggests that the dark night is 1) a gift and 2) the fundamental stage of the spiritual way,

It goes something like this:We cling to our beliefs and our people because we are scared to loose them. Not out of love. To be attached (addicted) to a thing, an idea, even to God, is a kind of idolatry. Because you are not longing for union with God or others. You are longing for the comfort that your idea of God brings you. But you have to kill your darlings, and its not jn your natire to do it willingly. Gods silence is Gods way of helping you let go of your idols and concepts of virtue and v...

First; This book was not what I was expecting it to be. Having been written by a psychiatrist, & the cover saying “A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth,” I really thought this book would be mostly the thoughts, learnings, reflections, & studies of Gerald May himself. What I found was that most of the book was written and based around the ideas & writings of Teresa of Avila & St. John of the Cross. (Which is not bad, just not expected).That being said, I th...

This wasn’t what I was expecting...I thought it would be insights on the dark night of the soul from a psychiatrist’s experiences but it was actually a primer on the writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Half the book was not that interesting to me but other parts really hit home, especially the chapters A Deeper Longing, The Dark Night Today, and Daybreak. I think I’ll keep this on my shelf to read again one day. The main theme is that the dark night is a gift even though it may no...

I have grown to appreciate the work of many of the great mystics and spiritual writers of the Church, with John of the Cross and Theresa of Avila being two of my favorites. This book is an analysis and commentary on their works from the perspective of a psychologist. The best thing about this book is to see how these spiritual writings from centuries ago resonate with contemporary psychology. In other words, Theresa and John did not just explore the depths of the human condition, but hit on much...

This book is a good companion and explanation to the classic spiritual work by St. John of the Cross by the same name. Gerald speaks as a cancer survivor, a psychiatrist and a spiritual guide (in that order) to elucidate the meaning of John's sometimes difficult concepts. He also brings in the insights of John's spiritual companion Theresa of Avila. An excellent resource for anyone seeking to understand this fundamental and important spiritual concept. There are many insights I take from this bo...

the first half of the book, twin biographies of st. john of the cross and theresa of avila, is terrible by all accounts. it was an indulgent and unsuccessful attempt to dramatize what should have been a very trite bio of these mystics. that being said, the rest of the book was fairly interesting. the writing itself is not particularly powerful, but the subject matter is: one's experience reading this book will be determined by their capacity for self-discovery and reflection.

Dark Night of the Soul is a complex mystical journey. Dr Gerald May had done an excellent job in putting this dark journey into understandable easy to read writing. It helped me a go through this dark uneasy journey by satisfying my conscious mind.

I found this an interesting read discussing the spiritual importance of what is often described as darkness. May's mixes theology and psychology in a resonate and captivating voice. I personally deeply appreciated his work around faith, hope and love.

Some years ago when reading about Mother Teresa I learned of a long period of her life, after she felt her calling to serve the orphans of Calcutta, when she felt a spiritual distance from God. I was intrigued and began looking for similar experiences in other historical figures. Ultimately this led me to the writings of Saint John of the Cross and his poem Dark Night: Once in the dark of night,Inflamed with love and yearning, I arose(O coming of delight!)And went, as no one knows,When all my ho...

"The dark night of the soul is not restricted to holy people. It can happen to everyone. Yet it is much more significant than simple misfortune. It is a deep transformation, a movement toward indescribable freedom and joy." (4)"The darkness of the night implies nothing sinister, only that the liberation takes place in hidden ways, beneath our knowledge and understanding" (5)Poor Teresa of Avila. When she had her mystical encounters with Christ, her spiritual director did not believe her and told...

I've struggled a bit with what I've read so far in the primary texts of St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. There were parts I was drawn to, but there were unattractive aspects too. So often I have read secondary sources that are enamored with them. This is such a one. Given my own reading experiences, this book by psychiatrist Gerald May feels like a dressing up of St Teresa and St John's material. But if it is, it is a very good and very useful dressing up. It's an excellent book - th...

This book was not what I had expected.When one hears the phrase, "dark night of the soul," one thinks of emotional or spiritual anguish: an experience where one is either crushed or fixed by suffering, but May's approach is constructive if no equivocal.There is goodness to be found in suffering, he writes in the introduction, just as evil can be found lurking in joyous times.As his guides through the Dark Night of the Soul, May uses two 17th-century Spanish mystics, St. John of the Cross and The...