The Secret Despair of the Secular Left

""A probing critique."" --Publishers Weekly ""The Secret Despair of the Secular Left is a powerful and intimate journey into the heart of our disenchanted world. It will be an eye-opening read for anyone with a nagging sense that something is wrong in our post-religious, tech-happy era, but can't quite put a finger on it. Levy-Lyons lifts up the stories of ordinary people and interprets them as if they were dreams, allowing us to climb inside them, look around, and understand our lives at a deeper level. She gently invites us to see the layers of grief and loss just below the surface. In naming the hidden losses of our modern era, this book gives voice to our deepest yearnings for real connection. It can empower us and inspire us to move toward change."" --Rabbi David A. Ingber, founding rabbi of Romemu, and Senior Director for Jewish Life and the Bronfman Center at 92NY ""Ana Levy-Lyons gives voice to grief, grief that realizes we've been duped. It's not fame and followers we need or want. It's not the perfect pair of jeans on the perfectly sculpted backside. What we are hungry for is authentic community, grounded in cultural traditions, connected to our precious bodies, living on this sacred and generous planet. We want to be part of something greater than ourselves. Levy-Lyons helps show us the way back."" -- Rev. Adriene Thorne, senior minister, The Riverside Church in the City of New York ""The Secret Despair of the Secular Left is an insightful, moving, and wise meditation on our contemporary condition. But this is no abstract analysis! With honesty, grace, and soulfulness, Ana Levy-Lyons shares her own psycho-spiritual journey and remarkable stories she has gathered along the way to help us understand the sources of the diseases of despair and loneliness afflicting our society: disconnection from each other, dislocation from our earth, and disembodiment from our selves. Read this book and you will not only find illumination and inspiration but an authentic path for human flourishing."" --Irwin Kula, president emeritus of Clal: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership ""The Secret Despair of the Secular Left is a cri de coeur that makes us sit up in our chairs and reconsider our lives. In this engaging, not easily pigeonholed book, Levy-Lyons details how secular liberal values have resulted in devastating disconnection from our deepest selves, our communities and our planet. Drawing from Judaism and other religious traditions, philosophers and social justice thinkers, as well as her own experience as a spiritual leader, she challenges us to recommit to responsibility, embodied connection and awe."" -- Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, teacher, spiritual director, and former leader of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality