The Soul of Desire

Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community

By: Curt Thompson MD, Makoto Fujimura - foreword

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

We are people of desire.

In The Soul of Desire, psychiatrist Curt Thompson suggests that underneath all our longings is the desire to be known - and what's more, that this fundamental yearning manifests itself in our deep need to make things of beauty, revealing who we are to others. Desire and beauty go hand in hand.

But both our craving to be known and our ability to create beauty have been marred by trauma and shame, collapsing our imagination for what God has for us and blinding us to the possibility that beauty could ever emerge from our ashes. Drawing on his work in interpersonal neurobiology and clinical practice, Thompson presents a powerful picture of the capacity of the believing community to reshape our imaginations, hold our desires and griefs together, and invite us into the beauty of God's presence.

The Soul of Desire is a mature, creative work, weaving together neuroscience and spiritual formation to open up new horizons for thinking not only about the nature of the mind but about what it means to be human.

©2021 Curt Thompson (P)2021 eChristian

The quest to restore beauty and joy to life

A meaningful exploration into how to see the joy while enduring the quest to bring understanding to life.

Necessary Idealism

I must admit that over the course of reading this book that I was both deeply, positively impacted while simultaneously frustrated. Something I find myself doing a lot of these days is trying to gleam as much good as I can from a body of work, or a person’s teachings, while also doing battle with the parts of which don’t align with truth or my personal beliefs about how humans work in the world.

First, I want to state forthright that I believe what Curt Thompson, MD, and his team are doing with confessional communities is going to help generate a movement of much needed healing in our country and perhaps the world at large.

Second, I find his writing to be full of idealism which often neglects the practical. The examples he uses in the book makes me wonder what he would do in relationship with someone who wouldn’t fit that mold. He also makes sweeping statements about the state of politics that hadn’t been resolved during the COVID lockdowns which I personally find distasteful.

Regardless, I found myself looking for beauty, finding it, and healing in it.

Recently, I had a difficult conversation with someone dear to me which left me angry and despondent. After attempting to resolve it and still not getting clarity or healing, I left to go pray, read the Bible, and just process my emotions in solitude. What resulted was my spinning in circles over and over feeling stuck. And in the middle of praying I just got this sense to apply some of what Thompson talks about in the book. To go look at art. I took a walk to a local art gallery while listening to praise and worship music. The resulting healing that I began to feel was something that I still cannot describe. But I knew then that’d I ywhat Thompson is saying is hitting the heart of some deep seated need that we all have. And I’m excited at the prospect for healing this book carries for more and more people.

This book is worth your time!

Great manna for a 2023 new year revealtion

God gave me a new year revelation of adjusting my focus and right on the heels of that revelation I was led to this book. The topic is so relevant to what I needed to begin my journey of healing and seeing from God’s perspective. While I may disagree with some of the author’s political perspective, it was part of my journey. Being able to see and hear someone else’s point of view, disagree with it, yet be willing to receive and consume the meat of what they were saying. The narrator did an incredible job allowing the author’s words to be a balm and really bring healing. I have been blessed and grew because of this text.

Highly recommend

My wish would be for every Christian to read this book in the next year. I found it to be insightful and timely. A great step in my Christian growth, even after many years of being a Christian.

Soul of Desire

Curt needs to keep his wokeness to himself. Otherwise, this is a wonderful book. Kyle did a good job of narration.

Wonderfully enlightening book.

Thank you so much Dr. Curt for putting this book together. It is so informative and I have had at least two other friends buying a copy.

Excellent read

This book causes you to think deeply and to reflect on what you are focused on and how it is impacts you.

very cerebral, take it slow.

it will hit you differently if you are single or married. listen for little nuggets that resonate with your story

One of the best listens on audible!

Each line is filled with wisdom and none are waisted. Such depth of insight into community based whole person formation can look like in our day. Such a radical challenge to the mechanistic and individualistic approaches so prevalent in the church. I will listen again and again.

Beautiful work

This is a hope-filled examination for trauma and recovery. It beautifully holds the tension between recognizing the pain of trauma and holding hope for recovery within the person and with their community.