Dark Nights of the Soul

A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals

By: Thomas Moore

Narrated by: Thomas Moore

Every human journey is filled with emotional tunnels: the loss of a loved one or end of a relationship, aging and illness, career disappointments, or just an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with life. Society tends to view these "dark nights" in clinical terms as obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible. But Thomas Moore's extensive career as a psychologist and theologian has taught him that honoring these periods of fragility as periods of incubation and opportunities to delve the soul's deepest needs can provide healing and a new understanding of life's meaning.

Dark Nights of the Soul presents these metaphoric dark nights not as the enemy, but as times of transition, occasions to restore yourself, and transforming rites of passage. Moore shows specific ways to engage life more deeply through particular challenges and shares a powerful new outlook on such topics as:

The healing power of melancholy

The sexual dark night and the mysteries of matrimony

Finding solace during illness and in aging

Anxiety, anger, and temporary insanities

Linking creativity, spirituality, and emotional struggles

Finding meaning and beauty in the darkness

With the soothing, accessible tone and practical philosophy that have made Moore an internationally beloved author, Dark Nights of the Soul will help you tend to the deepest needs of the heart and spirit in a modern world full of life's challenges, and is sure to be a comforting companion during your most difficult times.

©2004 Thomas Moore (P)2004 Penguin Audio and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Moore's soft-spoken delivery and gentle tone soothe and inform while challenging the listener to review past 'dark nights' in their lives." (AudioFile)

Did I set my expectations too high?

I picked this book based on the glowing reputation it had in reviews and the media. So many people have found this book to be a rich spiritual resource to help find their way back from dark times in their lives. Maybe I was hoping for too much. Somehow it just didn't seem to have the depth I expected. I love the concept by the way: dark times are an opportunity to reevaluate our lives and reemerge with a deeper understanding and appreciation of why we are here. Maybe someday I'll give it another try. For now, I think I'll stick with The Road Less Traveled.

Confusing after a time

Got through the first few hours ok but then it got very confusing and I just gave it up.

Highly insightful and reflective.... Very applicab

Highly insightful and reflective...... Very applicable to my life. Brought me out of my self pity and helped me to reengage living life fully

lots of good things to ponder

While I don't think every part of it was applicable to me, I did feel profound ideas shining through. I am going through a dark night myself and this has helped me feel so much more confident about getting through it and having it change me for the better. Wise man. Thank you for this book Thomas Moore.

Wise and wonderful

This is a wise and wonderful exploration of human suffering. Moore takes a sensitive and strong approach to facing life's harships and challenges. Rather than offering advice on how to alleviate the pain that accompanies hardship, Moore offers helpful advice on how and why these experiences can be used to develop and learn. He places individual hardships in the context of history, as an inevitable part of the human experience. I benefited greatly by his insights, and know that this book will resonate through my life.

The one book that has brought the most healing

I am a childhood cancer survivor, an acupuncturist for 12 years, a father, and a husband. My mother recently past away and I lost my whole clinical practice to the Covid pandemic. All that to say, this single book gave me perspective to transform all of that pain into something beautiful.

Dark Nights of the Soul (Unabridged)

Thomas, I've loved your books in the past and consider you a mentor. This book felt like you where trying to prove youself--you sounded depressed. I couldn't finish it--it was making me depressed. I hope life gets better soon.
I'm still a fan!

The first two hours is all you need

There is much good to be said for the premise of this book, but the author strays into too many bunny holes to keep my interest and to maintain the central core of his thesis.

The core idea is that dark nights in adulthood are not so much something to be fixed, as they are a normal process of living. Much as one doesn't "fix" adolescence, but guides it and celebrates its gifts, one shouldn't try to fix the dark nights of the soul. So far so good.

After hour 2 of this book, the themes turn to mythology and love triangles, and a variety of other ideosynchrocies that may be of passing interest, but were lost on me. The orthodox christian will have to muddle through the author's eclectic inclusion of mythology and extra-cannonical philosophy as it borders on the odd in places.

I'd recommend the first two hours and then give it a break.