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Vocational Library

The following books are available for check-out from the CEL library:

Getting Started:

Let Your Life Speak – Parker J. Palmer Telling stories from his own life and the lives of other who have made a difference, Palmer shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.

	Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life – Gregg Levoy Levoy draws on the hard-won wisdom and powerful stories of people who have followed their own calls to show us the many ways to translate a calling into action. This AudioBook guides listeners to ask and answer the questions that arise from any calling: How do we recognize it? How do we distinguish the true calls from the siren song? How do we handle our resistance to a call? What happens when we say no? What happens when we say yes?
	Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose – Brian J. Mahan In the wise and often witty Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose, Brian J. Mahan considers the question of how it is possible to create a meaningful spiritual life while living in a culture that measures us by what we have rather than who we are. Drawing on nearly two decades of teaching experience Mahan shares stoireis of personal struggle and triumph that demonstrate how those who seek meaning and purpose have reclaimed their authentic selves by resolving the inevitable tension between personal ambition and spiritual vibrancy.
	Creating a Life Worth Living – Carol Lloyd Dreaming is easy. Making it happen is hard. With a fresh perspective, Carol Lloyd motivates the person searching for two things: the creative life and a life of sanity, happiness and financial solvency. Creating a Life Worth Living is for the hundreds of thousands of people who bought Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, but who are looking for more down-to-earth solutions and concrete tasks for achieving their goals.
	Vocation: Discerning our Callings in Life – Douglas J. Schuurman "A wise, judicious, and compelling rearticulation of the concept of vocation as an integrative force in the Christian life. Douglas Schuurman's Vocation is filled with sound theological judgment and well-considered counsel." -Lee Hardy, Calvin College
	Answering Your Call: A Guide for Living Your Deepest Purpose – John Schuster Author John P. Schuster first explains what it means to be called to something larger than ourselves -- to find the life that best fits us because it uses our talents to the fullest and adds the most lasting value to the world. He then shows how we can respond to that call in any area of life from career to family to community. Answering Your Call includes exercises, models, and guidelines for creating a life of meaning, illustrated with concrete and practical real-world examples.

For further reading:

• Zen and the Art of Making a Living – Laurence Boldt (Center for Creative Empowerment)
• Charting a Hero’s Journey – Linda Chisolm
• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – Anne Fadiman
• The Middle of Everywhere – Mary Pipher
• The Courage to Teach – Parker J. Palmer
• Better Together: Restoring the American Community – Robert D. Putnam, Lewis M. Feldstein, Donald J. Cohen
• The Living Organization – William A. Guillory
• Soul of a Citizen – Paul Rogat Loeb
• To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey – Parker J. Palmer
• Mountains Beyond Mountains – Tracy Kidder
• Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties – Alexandra Robbins, Abby Wilner
• Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life’s Calling – Richard Leider, David Shapiro
• Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing – Judith Shelly, Arlene Miller
• The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring – Parker J. Palmer
• As Leaven in the World: Catholic Perspectives on Faith, Vocation, and the Spiritual Life – Thomas Landy
• The Fabric of This World: Inquiries into Calling, Career, Choices, and the Design of Work – Lee Hardy
• Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity – David Whyte
• Here I Am: Now What on Earth Should I Be Doing? – Quentin Schultze
• God’s Gifted People: Discovering Your Personality as a Gift – Gary Harbaugh
• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America – Barbara Ehrenriech
• Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community – Robert Putnam
• Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose: Vocation and the Ethics of Ambition – Brian Mahan
• Life Keys: Discover Who You Are – Jane Kise, David Stark, Sandra Hirsh
• Slowing Down to the Speed of Life: How to Create a More Peaceful, Simpler Life From the Inside Out – Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey
• Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith – Sharon Daloz Parks
• The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work – Richard Leider
• Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community – Suzanne Farnham, R. Taylor McLean, Susan Ward, Joseph Gill
• Called to Serve: St. Olaf and the Vocation of a Church College – ed. Pamela Schwandt, co-ed. Gary DeKrey and L. DeAne Lagerquist
• Revisiting the Idea of Vocation: Theological Explorations – John Haughey
• Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools – Jonathan Kozol
• The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism – Robert Coles
• Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World – Laurent Parks Daloz, Cheryl Keen, James Keen, Sharon Daloz Parks
• Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx – Heidi Neumark
• A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward and Undivided Life – Parker J. Palmer
• Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ – Daniel Goleman
• The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions – Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler and Brett Johnson wit Brian Klocke