Love Is Stronger Than Death [Paperback]

A guidebook for all who are called to the path of conscious love. This powerful book, written by an Episcopal priest, tells of her intense relationship with Brother Raphael Robin, a seventy-year-old Trappist monk and hermit. Deeply enriched by Bourgeault's knowledge of the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff and of Christian mysticism, their vibrant, provocative, beautifully written story adds a profound new dimension to our understanding of human love and the possibility of survival beyond the grave. Review for Love is Stronger than Death Amazon.com Reverend Cynthia Bourgeault was a 50-year-old priest when she met her soul mate, a hermit named Brother Raphael Robin (Rafe). They had only three years on earth together before Rafe died suddenly of a heart attack. Accounts of these earthly days together are as intense and emotionally wrenching as any love affair could be. And yet their relationship was always graced with a higher goal--creating spiritual love over romantic possession. After Rafe died, Bourgeault was content to let him rest in peace as she began her journey of grief. But weeping outdoors on a snowy night, she felt certain that Rafe's spirit was beside her. "Although I was still crying, the emotional sting started to lose its force, and a new and tingling presence began to work its way up in me, literally starting from the tips of my toes," she recalls. "I knew in that moment I was sustained by an invisible and intensely joyous partner." From then on, Bourgeault continued her love affair with Rafe. Building on this unusual, interactive love-after-death experience, Reverend Bourgeault has assembled some exquisitely reassuring thoughts and anecdotes on eternal love and the impermanence of death. This memoir could be inspirational for grieving lovers or anyone who wants to further explore the mysteries of love, death, spirit, and reincarnation. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal Bourgeault, an Episcopal priest and professor of theology, met Brother Raphael Robin in 1990 while attending a Colorado training workshop in centering prayer. The elderly monk lived in seclusion in a mountain cabin. The romantic yet platonic relationship that ensued between the 50-year-old Bourgeault and the 70-year-old hermit lasted five years, until his death. Both believed that a relationship can continue beyond this life, and here Bourgeault describes her search for that connection after Robin's death. The unusual love story is told from a girl-meets-boy perspective. Though some readers will be turned off by the emphasis on the after-death relationship, others will enjoy this well-written telling of an unconventional intimacy. Libraries offering titles on mysticism, inner transformation, or dealing with grief will find this a unique and welcome addition.ALeroy Hommerding, Citrus Cty. Lib. Inverness, FL Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.