Sabbatical Journey is probably my favourite Nouwen work. The reason for that is because it is a diary, or a journal, that he kept for one year and as such it is vivid in it's recordings of his life, his doubts, his remembrances and thoughts and journeyings—it is a book that meanders and wanders as most daily journals do. Sometimes there are a series of themes that link the days, but more often than not, as any journaller finds, it is instead a series of random thoughts that sum up ourselves in a way that a more logical progression probably does not. Here with Nouwen we see a real man of great passion and intense activity. But we also see a man of great sadness and doubt at times, and in these reflections we probably most see ourselves and the reality of our lives. Faith is not without pain and doubt, but great faith is built upon these and other moments too. And if anything this is most clearly what Nouwen's final work shows us so very very well.