Lady at the Window: The Lost Journal of Julian of Norwich, A Novella
Robert Waldron
May/2020
128 pages
Paperback
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
ISBN: 978-164-060-5343
Paraclete Press
$16.99
These days, many of us are at home all the time. We still have virtual ways of connecting; but we are not busy the way we were. It sometimes feels like we have become hermits. Aside from work, we can draw the curtain and log off when we want. Rather than peaceful, though, it can feel more stressful than the busyness did. It’s a good time to read about how people who have chosen to step away from the world use their seclusion to deepen their faith.
Lady at the Window: The Lost Journal of Julian of Norwich by Robert Waldron tells the story of a Holy Week late in Julian’s life. With God’s “shewings” many years in the past, she must draw on the deepest well of her faith to remind herself that God is still with her.
Each section presents a day in Holy Week and incorporates Julian’s own words from Revelations. She shares her wisdom about God’s omnipresent love with a homeless wounded soldier, a frightened unwed mother, and several others who fear not only their situation, but also the church’s condemnation. Each visitor leaves Julian’s window feeling uplifted and beloved, even as she herself struggles to re-enter the divine light that she once experienced. The book details her daily routine, a grueling regimen of prayer, fasting, secret writing, and opening herself in complete vulnerability to the pain of her community—not at all the stress-free existence my friend and I had romanticized. Julian expresses her gratitude and deep love for the God she refers to as “My courteous Lord” and “Mother Jesus,” as she beseeches this loving entity to end her spiritual darkness.
The novella is spare but richly referential. It weaves medieval spellings into the text in a way that feels compelling rather than gimmicky. By the end, I had to remind myself that it was not based on a real journal of Julian’s. Waldron’s text combines the interior life of the notable mystic with her larger historical context, presenting her in a way that made me want to delve more deeply into her actual writings.
Waldron presents the mystic experience thoughtfully. His twenty books include six on Thomas Merton and two on Henri Nouwen. He has received four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and multiple awards for his writing on modern spirituality. In the afterword, he says Julian of Norwich’s writings serve as “a window, though which we can at any time gaze, and see the great beauty, wisdom, and counsel she has to offer for the twenty-first century.” His novella provides an accessible entry to her world.
Reading it is a reminder that while the virus cloisters us away from the daily joys — and pains — of busily interacting with the world, there are still many ways to engage. In Julian’s darkest week, she remains fully present to herself, to her community and to God. Reading about the profound mix of light and darkness in her Holy Week provides the centering thought that if we focus on the presence and love of God in everything — even in this modern plague — all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
Reviewed by Lucy Chambers, Cathedral Bookstore, Houston, Texas
