Praise for The Sacred Year

Now Featured at the Patheos Book Club
The Sacred Year
Mapping The Soulscape Of Spiritual Practice—How Contemplating Apples, Living In A Cave, And Befriending A Dying Woman Revived My Life
By Michael Yankoski

What People are Saying

"In his life and his writing, Michael Yankoski walks a tightrope between action and contemplation, and, behold, in ways we all can learn from, he manages to find a sort of essential balance."
—Philip Yancey,
Author of What's So Amazing About Grace?

"This book is a joy to the soul and a delight to the heart. It is destined to become a classic within the genre of contemporary spiritual and religious writing."
—Phyllis Tickle, Compiler of The Divine Hours

"Dorothy Day once said, 'Don't call me a saint, I don't want to be dismissed that easily.' In this book, Michael Yankoski refuses to limit faithful living to daredevil Christians, and he creates a commonwealth of sacred treasures for all to share. He reminds you that the Christian faith is more like a marathon than a sprint...and it's not just about what you do but who you are becoming."
—Shane Claiborne, Author, activist, and friend of Jesus

"Michael Yankoski is such a good writer that it would be easy to hitch a ride through his sacred year without ever setting foot on the ground he covered. This book wants more of you than that. If you decide to accept its invitation, then you too will own up to what is ailing you, turning aside from the shallows of your life-as-usual in order to go deep. The spiritual practices in this book can help you do that, but they don't promise to keep you safe. Instead, they promise to open you to the Spirit who alone can make you whole."
—Barbara Brown Taylor,
Author of Learning To Walk in the Dark

"Bright lights don't need spotlights. Michael's been a bright light for a long time and he's written another terrific book. He doesn't want the spotlight anymore, he just want a deeper faith and more meaningful life. This book was like the sound of soft rain and the crackling of a fire to my tired soul. If you're like me and run hard, Michael will blow the foam off your busy life and invite you explore some of the spiritual practices he's discovered and show you how they have revived him. This isn't just a book; it's an invitation to examine yourself and your world. If you're like me, you'll put down this book, pick up your calendar and make a couple changes.
You'll want to cancel a few things and start a couple others; you'll want to be more intentional and engaged than you've been; and you'll want to live a more active love."
Bob Goff, New York Times Best-selling Author of Love Does

"'What does it profit to gain the world and lose your soul?' Michael Yankoski reminds us that before we can truly make a difference in the world we must attend to our own lives in Christ. Michael is a thoughtful, discerning guide on this journey."
—Rich Stearns,
President World Vision US and author of The Hole in Our Gospel and Unfinished

"Michael Yankoski uses crisp, engaging language as he addresses the 'chaos of questions about whether spiritual practices are relevant' in today's fast-paced life. With engaging honesty and vivid narrative, he addresses the deep fissures that erode Christian public presence and testimony. Michael doesn't spare himself as he tells entrancing stories about things like vending machines and bare feet, hospitals and blizzards. You will not only love reading this book, you'll find it draws you deeper as you discover unforgettable patterns for your life in Christ."
—Luci Shaw,
Author, Adventure of Ascent; Writer in Residence, Regent College

"In our age in which churches and society are cursed with superficiality, it is a rare book that calls us to a deeper life. Michael Yankoski's The Sacred Year is one such book, artfully weaving the story of his own quest for a meaningful faith. This book is destined to become a spiritual classic, and it merits the sort of mindful attention that it calls us to nurture."
—C. Christopher Smith,
Co-author SLOW CHURCH and Senior Editor of The Englewood Review of Books

"Occasionally a story of someone else's spiritual journey provides a map by which to navigate your own. The Sacred Year does that. Michael Yankoski's candid, open-hearted reflection on the practices that led him from exhaustion to plenitude and the encounters that inspired those practices is rich with memorable stories, wisdom from a wide communion of saints, and practical guidance. This book belongs on a shelf next to those of Wendell Berry, Richard Rohr, Kathleen Norris, Norvene Vest, and Ched Meyers, among other companions on the journey in our generation. From the discovery of silence to the rediscovery of breadmaking to the spaciousness of simple living to new ways to pray, we are invited in every chapter to deepen our conversations with self, others, and God, assured of surprise at every turn of the journey."
—Marilyn McEntyre
Fellow, Gaede Institute, Westmont College; Adjunct Professor of Medical Humanities, UC Berkeley; and Author of Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies