Jean Vanier: Portrait of a Free Man

by Anne-Sophie Constant

Winner of the Templeton prize in 2015.

Mentor to Henri Nouwen and founder of the L'Arche community, which featured prominently in Nouwen's life.

Subject of the recent film Summer in the Forest.

Timely release: as Vanier nears the end of his life, his followers and media will be looking for material on his life and accomplishments.

• ISBN13: 9780874861402
• Publish Date: 4 August 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Plough Publishing House
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 250
• Language: English

Reviews

[wcs53]

I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful, short biography of a man who I believe to be one of Canada's national treasures, the late Jean Vanier. I have to admit that, apart from being the founder of L'Arche, there was very little that I knew about Vanier's life. Although this is what he is rightly remembered fondly for, this book showed that there was so much more to him. The author has given us a quite condensed account of his life, but there's also enough detail to cover the basics and important parts of a life that was filled with so much. What struck me the most, among other things, is that Vanier chose to live the life he lived, when he could so easily have chosen to live a life of comfort and privilege. He was indeed an inspiration.

This biography is worth checking out and I heartily recommend it.