The Mother's Smile: Philosophical Formation in the Welcome of Mothers and Friends
Now published!
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From birth, the intimate, face-to-face encounters of life form each person in a natural, everyday philosophy. Mother’s delighted welcome invites her tiny child into a fundamental vision of reality and models flourishing involvement with it. Sustained and matured in the gaze of certain friends throughout life, seeing oneself being seen with delight grows a “yes” to the world, a sense of one’s existence, a regard for others, and a lifelong desire for the face of God. In this modern age skewed by a philosophy of isolation, suspicion, and critique, returning to a primal philosophy of welcome brings personal and cultural healing. It heightens wonder and wisdom, professional and every-day. And it means that people render profound philosophical service when they delight in their children and friends.
Foreword by D.C. Schindler
Cover Art: "Greatest in the Kingdom." Linocut print by Ned Bustard. |
Order your copy:
From my publisher: Wipf and Stock
From my hometown bookstore! Link coming soon.
United States and other countries: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play
Germany: Bol.de, Thalia
From my publisher: Wipf and Stock
From my hometown bookstore! Link coming soon.
United States and other countries: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play
Germany: Bol.de, Thalia
Praise for The Mother's Smile
"This is a delightful, important, and much-needed book. It is rare to find a profound academic philosopher who can communicate so clearly, and rarer still to find one who can reflect so richly on the experience of motherhood not just from the outside but from the inside. Her account in this book of what it means to be face to face, to be smiled upon, to be loved, takes us right to the heart of what it means to be human. Amidst so many threats to our common humanity this book is a timely reminder of what it is all about, what makes us who we are."
Malcolm Guite, Life Fellow, Girton College, University of Cambridge
"The Mother’s Smile is rare—philosophically profound, deeply human, and poetically accessible. Esther Lightcap Meek invites us to rediscover where philosophy truly begins: in the mother’s face, in the joy of being welcomed and known. A beautiful and unforgettable gift."
Paul Hoard, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology
"In the life-giving power of the mother’s smile Esther Meek discerns a whole world of truth about being human.”
John F. Crosby, Professor of Philosophy emeritus, Franciscan University
“Who knew that one could be enchanted by a book about human attachment as told through the story of . . . philosophy? With The Mother’s Smile, Esther Meek has done just that. With clarity, humor, and humility, our guide once again demonstrates why philosophy matters so much, and that it matters early and often in our developmental journeys. Read this book and find your mind sharpened, your heart expanded, and your life transformed.”
Curt Thompson, MD, psychiatrist and author of The Soul of Desire
“This is a beautiful book of sincere gentleness and exquisite timeliness. In it, we recover the loving and gracious gaze that must accompany the intellect—the smile that changes the course of a life, that gifts us with the only self that is not lonely, the self that knows through love, and leads us to Christ, the great face that will not go away.”
Caitlin Smith Gilson, Professor of Philosophy, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
Every human arriving in this world cradled in the welcome of their mother’s arms, met by her shining countenance, receives the first clue to the nature of reality and the meaning of existence, claims Esther Meek in this rich and delightful book. Both our origin and our destination is a Face overjoyed at our arrival.
Matthew Clark, singer songwriter, author of The Well Trilogy books and albums