Consolations II: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words

This book offers gems to contemplate and share. It simply explores the life of words that are common to us all and that evoke a range of thoughts and memories of our relationship to these words. Each word the author shares his reflections on invites us into our own experience of our own relationship and thoughts about the richness of meaning.

This collection, and the prequel collection under the same name, have been gratefully transformative for me over the past month. In today’s world, there are more ways we can disconnect and hide from what we are perceiving and feeling. Reading these entries feels like the sudden perception of things that have long occupied my blind-spots, inviting them into the light where I can have a second chance at an introduction. Don’t underestimate that expansion of awareness; it makes you feel real and honest again. Whyte’s writing is not overly flowery, not indulgent nor obtrusive with esoteric prose. It is simply and realistically presented in a way that, strangely, feels as if the reader is the one who wrote it. I think that’s the greatest mark of honest, heartfelt, human truth.Thank you David.

Beautiful. I have not read all of it. Not yet. It should be read and enjoyed slowly and then read again. I am an instant fan of this person. Meaningful, thoughtful writing. I'll try to update after I've read it through a couple of times. How fortunate I am to have found this author. I would give 10 stars if that were possible.

A dictionary with prose definitions written by a poet? There’s a novel idea!Words might reasonably be thought of as labels for concepts – some more complex than others depending on their history and a reader’s degree of familiarity - somewhat as our personal names serve as labels for our individual personalities to acquaintances, friends, and loved ones. So, too, perhaps, in these semantic explorations, might words be considered for David Whyte, a writer of poetry and prose; a friend to, and lover of words and their prismatic semantic character. As in Consolations I, the writer in him is acting as a sort of semantic assayer, assaying his linguistic ore for content, purity, and color; for application as allegory, metaphor, and “personality,” as well as insight for pragmatic applications in life – secular and spiritual. Thus, the poet/philosopher in him finds expression.This is not a dictionary of definitions with technical grammatical and etymological information, but thoughtful reflections, several pages each, on particular common words by a mature writer who has spent a lifetime using the material of his art and trade. A reader’s reaction to Whyte’s in-depth explorations of these words might vary, from partial agreement to acknowledgement of enlightened insight; this reader found much to react to and think about. My copy of the book, and its predecessor, are heavily annotated, which is a measure of my engagement with spirited material.I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the color, depth, and hidden subtleties of language.

David's poetry is beautiful, stretches you into new considerations, validates experiences you may not have words for; invites you into your own depths, recognition, and honoring of our connection with others. A source of clarity, inspiration, and solace/encouragement.

I love this book. I watched some YouTube interviews where the author reads passages and was hooked. Incredible.

David Whyte’s Consolations II continues his masterful exploration of language, offering an easy yet profound read that invites deep reflection. Like the first volume, it doesn’t just illuminate the words he writes about—it shifts the way you see all language, making even the most familiar words feel newly significant.

I'm a huge David Whyte fan girl. Beautiful written essays. Moving, accurate, inspiring.