The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd
Written by Mary Rose O'Reilley
Narrated by Mary Rose O'Reilley
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Deciding that her life was insufficiently grounded in real-world experience, the author, a Quaker reared as a Catholic, embarked on a year of tending sheep. In this often hilarious book, she describes her time in the barn as well as an extended visit to a Buddhist monastery in France.
Editor's Note
Live consciously…
The act of seeking spirituality has never had as many comedic moments as that of Mary Rose O’Reilley, whose journey leads her to tend sheep for a year. From Catholicism to Buddhism to the almost religious experience of leading large animals through their own life’s struggles, O’Reilley’s biography is a guide to learning to live consciously in a world that stands still for no woman.
Mary Rose O'Reilley
Mary Rose O’Reilley is the author of The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd and The Love of Impermanent Things: A Threshold Ecology, as well as a novel, two collections of poems, and three other works of nonfiction. She has served as an American Council of Learned Societies contemplative studies fellow and consultant with the Society for Contemplative Mind in Society in its exploration of meditative disciplines in education. She works as a spiritual director, trained in the Christian (Shalem Institute) and Buddhist (Plum Village) traditions. An emerita professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, O’Reilley is currently active as a musician, potter, and homesteader on a rural island in Puget Sound.
Related to The Barn at the End of the World
Related audiobooks
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fire in the Straw: Notes on Inventing a Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cry of the Sloth Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Travels With Maurice: An Outrageous Adventure In Europe, 1968 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Orchard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Way of Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man with the Electrified Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Villa Page: A He Said/She Said Memoir of Buying Our Dream Home in France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ready to Come About Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another Life: On Memory, Language, Love, and the Passage of Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Archipelago of Another Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Searching for the Messiah: Unlocking the Psalms of Solomon and Humanity's Quest for a Savior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love for a Deaf Rebel: Schizophrenia on Bowen Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Existence of Pity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Broken Man on a Halifax Pier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exotic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Schrödinger Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Blue Girl Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Night Lake: A Young Priest Maps the Topography of Grief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Robins Appear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Religious Biographies For You
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hiding Place Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Confessions of St. Augustine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Included Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Toltec Art of Life and Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Autobiography of a Yogi (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Severe Mercy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Exorcist Tells His Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Devil is Afraid of Me: The Life and Work of the World's Most Famous Exorcist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak: Lessons on Faith from Nine Biblical Families Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Presence of My Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve Ordinary Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Paul: A Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life: My Story Through History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Autobiography of a Yogi: The Original 1946 Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God's Smuggler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cult Trip Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Barn at the End of the World
100 ratings6 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a profound and inspiring autobiography that takes them on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The book is well-written and filled with humor, wisdom, and compassion. The narrator does an excellent job of bringing the author's story to life. It has the power to change readers for the better and inspires them to reflect on their own life choices. Overall, this book is a must-read that leaves readers feeling blessed and inspired.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I decided to pick a non-fiction book to beginner this wonderful month of November.
"The Barn at The End of the World is a beautiful and passionate story of self discovery, growth and a quest to find true meaning in life.
Ms. O'Reilly takes the reader on a moving and heart warming journey that is filled with humour; wisdom and personal growth that fills the reader with a sense of peace, warmth and compassion.
I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to listen to her story.
It has changed me for the better!
The narrator did a wonderful job of bringing such eloquence and passion into portraying Ms. O'Reilly's journey.
I look forward to reading more from this author. Everyone should read or listen to this book.
My rating:
?????
??? - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dive into sheep barn work , religion’s and spirituality. Well written.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is one of the most profound autobiographical records of the spiritual search and the quest for connection. If you read it with your heart, you will be changed.
5 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This autobiography is a gentle journey that traverses an expansive life experience. The author drew me into her journey from her experience of caring for sheep, to a Buddist monastery, to a parsonage in Maine, and back to a university campus. But more than a description of dates, times, and places, the author candidly shared the emotions that attended her path. The book has inspired me to look at my own life choices in a different light.
4 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I actually loved this book. It's not something I would normally read (okay, the Buddhist part is), but I ran across it in the library and found it to be very interesting. You don't see many books about sheparding. It's worth reading if you're into the simple life or sheep.
4 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A brilliant writer . . . O'Reilleytakes us to Plum Village, and the barn. She understands life.
4 people found this helpful