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Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 946 ratings · 163 reviews

A key comic writer of the past three decades has created his most heartfelt and hard-hitting book. Father Joe is Tony Hendra’s inspiring true story of finding faith, friendship, and family through the decades-long influence of a surpassingly wise Benedictine monk named Father Joseph Warrillow.

Like everything human, it started with sex. In 1955, fourteen-year-old Tony found...more A key comic writer of the past three decades has created his most heartfelt and hard-hitting book. Father Joe is Tony Hendra’s inspiring true story of finding faith, friendship, and family through the decades-long influence of a surpassingly wise Benedictine monk named Father Joseph Warrillow.

Like everything human, it started with sex. In 1955, fourteen-year-old Tony found himself entangled with a married Catholic woman. In Cold War England, where Catholicism was the subject of news stories and Graham Greene bestsellers, Tony was whisked off by the woman’s husband to see a priest and be saved.

Yet what he found was a far cry from the priests he’d known at Catholic school, where boys were beaten with belts or set upon by dogs. Instead, he met Father Joe, a gentle, stammering, ungainly Benedictine who never used the words “wrong” or “guilt,” who believed that God was in everyone and that “the only sin was selfishness.” During the next forty years, as his life and career drastically ebbed and flowed, Tony discovered that his visits to Father Joe remained the one constant in his life—the relationship that, in the most serious sense, saved it.

From the fifties and his adolescent desire to join an abbey himself; to the sixties, when attending Cambridge and seeing the satire of Beyond the Fringe convinced him to change the world with laughter, not prayer; to the seventies and successful stints as an original editor of National Lampoon and a writer of Lemmings, the off-Broadway smash that introduced John Belushi and Chevy Chase; to professional disaster after co-creating the legendary English series Spitting Image; from drinking to drugs, from a failed first marriage to a successful second and the miracle of parenthood—the years only deepened Tony’s need for the wisdom of his other and more real father, creating a bond that could not be broken, even by death.

A startling departure for this acclaimed satirist, Father Joe is a sincere account of how Tony Hendra learned to love. It’s the story of a whole generation looking for a way back from mockery and irony, looking for its own Father Joe, and a testament to one of the most charismatic mentors in modern literature.

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Paperback, 304 pages

Published May 31st 2005 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published May 18th 2004)

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Jan 09, 2008 Tung rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

Tony Hendra is a British satirist with a Forrest Gump-like lifetime. He performed in college with John Cleese and Graham Chapman (Monty Python fame); was editor of the National Lampoon; was in This is Spinal Tap; attended school with Stephen Hawking and other famous people. This memoir (supposedly) focuses on his spirituality: his early years when he wanted to become a monk, his lifetime straying from his faith; and his return to his faith in his later years – all as the direct result of knowing...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

"How I met Father Joe: I was fourteen and having an affair with a married woman." Thus opens Father Joe, a poignant, profound, and insightful memoir that surprised many critics. "How did a man known for left-wing screeds and biting satire come to write a book that _

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Dec 07, 2011 George rated it 2 of 5 stars

Tony Hendra's first visit to Father Joe Warrilow, a Benedictine monk living on the Isle of Wight, is at the insistence of a man who walked in to find young Tony embracing his wife. It's an awkward beginning to any relationship, but Tony and Father Joe will remain close for decades, even as Tony pursues a career in comedy, moves to the U.S., and indulges in all manner of excess and bad behavior. The first half of the book is about Tony's childhood, the immediate effects of meeeting Father Joe, an...more

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May 19, 2011 Leroy Seat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this to be a very interesting, moving book. Earlier this year I had read, and was greatly impressed by, Hendra's "The Messiah on Morris Avenue," so I was captivated by this book, which is Hendra's memoirs. I had not read the magazines he wrote for or watched the TV programs he was associated with. Still, it was interesting reading, and Father Joe was certainly a remarkable person.

After finishing the book, I had two thoughts: I wish I could have had a mentor such as Father Joe and I wish...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

I listented to this book read by author Tony Hendra. I bought the book when it went on sale on Audible.com because I was curious about Hendra, having read George Carlin's memoir in which Hendra collaborated. I didn't know much more about Hendra except that he was a satirist and connected with the National Lampoon. I also like memoirs that explore spiritual questions, especially those by authors who were raised Catholic.

I have since purchased a hard copy of the book that will go on my shelf of fa...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Noel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

I was fully prepared to go to battle with this book. I knew it was about a Catholic kid who found a mentor in a Benedictine (Catholic) monk.

I don’t like Catholics, I don’t like Benedictines and I don’t like monks.

I have to go back a few years. I was in a Methodist church. I had read some very good reviews on this book. I was less cynical. I started to read it and found out that our pastor had just finished it and loved it. That same week, I left the Methodist church in disgust, not so much with...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tony Hendra penned his memoirs of a deep, loving relationship, spanning over half a century, with a Benedictine monk, Father Joe. Tony looked up to, and revered Fr. Joe as his spiritual and earthly father. Halfway into the story, I decided to google the characters to find out more. What a horrifying surprise to learn that Tony's now adult daughter has made some very shocking accusations against him! For a while, I considered not continuing my reading of the book because Tony's omission of this s...more

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Oct 28, 2009 Emilia P rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: churrrch, real-books

Apparently my papa read this book on a 3-day silent retreat and came home and raved about it. I vaguely remember this and thinking it sounded weird. So I am glad the book on CD found its way to me.

This book was pretty wonderful. It captured the potential for deep, serious, sincere religious reverence of youth in the person of the author as a teenager determined to be a monk, as well as the torture of loss of faith and continued need for penance and peace of the author as an adult. Which is prett...more

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Dec 17, 2008 Dan O'Keefe rated it 3 of 5 stars

So far, this is a very well written book. There's one scene in particular, in which the author starts feeling trapped within his own body and feels the entire world falling out from under him, that is one of the most well written accounts of existential angst I've read.

I'm still in the middle of the book; although I haven't been reading it diligently, since I've been working on school stuff as well. However, I hope to finish it by the end of this week and give it a rating.

---

After finishing the...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Gretchen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, memoir

I wasn't really sure exactly what to rate this book. I think I would give it 2 1/2 stars if I could. Some parts of the book I really liked, but others, not so much.

This book follows the spiritual journey of the author from almost-a-monk to atheist and back again. When he was a young teenager, Hendra met Father Joe, a Benedictine monk. Hendra was so taken by Father Joe that he decided that he also wanted to be a monk. The first part of the book details Hendra's early thoughts about spirituality a...more

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Nov 26, 2012 John Hamilton rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

My Dad used to always tell me, "Don't blow your youth!" What he means by this is that the habits and opportunities you develop or ignore in your youth will haunt you the rest of your life. Such is the case with Tony Hendra in this autobiography of sorts about himself and his attachment to a surrogate father-figure in his Catholic priest friend Father Joe.

Mr. Hendra had a considerably less-than-ideal childhood. Though not as tragic as many dysfunctional families, it was certainly enough to warp...more My Dad used to always tell me, "Don't blow your youth!" What he means by this is that the habits and opportunities you develop or ignore in your youth will haunt you the rest of your life. Such is the case with Tony Hendra in this autobiography of sorts about himself and his attachment to a surrogate father-figure in his Catholic priest friend Father Joe.

Mr. Hendra had a considerably less-than-ideal childhood. Though not as tragic as many dysfunctional families, it was certainly enough to warp his perception of reality and under-develop his emotional stability. He vacillates between unquestioning piety and virile agnosticism or atheism. He wrecked his first marriage and has unbelievable fights with his current wife—though, to his credit, he seems to have learned from previous experiences somewhat.

Throughout this, at times disturbing, narrative the author turns back to Father Joe, a friend from his youth, who despite living the seemingly sheltered life of a monk, seems to understand Tony better than he does himself. Father Joe deserves respect for his charitable and humble contribution to those lives he touched, but I think it is somewhat of a tragedy he didn't serve in a more effective capacity out in the public more. Of course, he may not have developed into who he was in such an environment.

I sense a bit of embellishment in areas of the book by Mr. Hendra, but considering his career in entertainment, that is understandable and somewhat excusable. A couple disappointing elements that reoccurred throughout the narrative were his irrational slamming on Ronald Reagan (as if Reagan had anything to do with his emotional problems) and his mocking of the left wing politics in the U.S. as being ignorant and not at all left enough. These weirdly-placed statements only really serve to buttress his already fairly evident unstable personality.

All this said, it was a fun read and had a few insights, but I would probably not recommend it unless you are an avid Tony Hendra fan or you have already read all the more uplifting books in the world.(less)

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Nov 01, 2010 Callie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. So, I never had heard of this book and just stumbled upon it. Excellent writing + spiritual odyssey= I'm in love. The first half I listened to on CD, which I highly recommend b/c it's read by Tony Hendra himself, so you get a good idea of how Father Joe sounded, and the jokes Hendra inserts in the text are funnier when he reads them to you...So much loveliness here, so much wisdom. Hendra's journey from burning bright faith as a young boy who wants to be a priest to Cambridge youth who lose...more Wow. So, I never had heard of this book and just stumbled upon it. Excellent writing + spiritual odyssey= I'm in love. The first half I listened to on CD, which I highly recommend b/c it's read by Tony Hendra himself, so you get a good idea of how Father Joe sounded, and the jokes Hendra inserts in the text are funnier when he reads them to you...So much loveliness here, so much wisdom. Hendra's journey from burning bright faith as a young boy who wants to be a priest to Cambridge youth who loses touch with his religion to famous comedic writer wherein he abandons God completely, to his return, and all along there is Father Joe, a wise old monk who just keeps loving him and talking him through his long journey out of darkness...

"The only way to know God, the only way to know the other , is to listen. Listening is reaching out into that unknown other self, surmounting your walls and theirs; listening is the beginning of understanding, the first exercise of love...We must listen because we are so often wrong in our certainties. When we pass a motion in the chaotic debating chamber of our heads, it's never completely right , or even, most of the time, half right. The only way to edge closer to the truth is to listen with complete openness, bringing to the process no preconceptions, nothing prepared."

A conversation between Father Joe and Tony Hendra about his chosen vocation of writing satire, poking fun at the Establishment, etc. Father Joe asks him why he does it:

"Well...the truth is, Father Joe, what we really do it for is--attention. We all jostle enedlessly to be on talk shows, get items in columns, or columns in papers, or books on the best-seller list, or green lights for our pilots and our movies, to ... how did you used to put it...to extend our selves out into...other people's awareness.
He considered this, looking out at the Solent.
"Needing attention is a powerful force in the world, isn't it?"
"Absolutely. Most people would think of it as a very natural need. ALmost a right."
"Without God, people find it very hard to know who they are or why the exist. But if others pay attention to them, praise them, write about them, discuss them, they think they've found the answers to both questions."
"If they don't believe in God, you can't blame them."
"True, dear. But it still makes for an empty, unhappy person. ...If the result is that you only have a personality other people shape. If you really exist only in other people's minds."
"I think you've just described celebrity."
"I've just described pride, dear."(less)

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Mar 09, 2011 Lisa Butterworth rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was the best book I've ever read in my whole life. Okay, maybe not really, but it was stupendously awesomely fantastically beautifully relevantly perfectly exactly what I needed to read right not. Tony Hendra (probably most famous for his role as the Spinal Tap's Manager) writes a memoir about himself and his relationship with Father Joe, a benedictine monk. It starts when he is fourteen and visits him as a confessor after an affair with a married woman. His love and admiration for Father J...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Skylar Burris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, christianity

This book can’t quite seem to make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a spiritual autobiography or a spiritual biography, and thus it never quite satisfies as either. As the former, it’s a sort of spiritual autobiography in reverse, a story of losing, rather than gaining, faith. Or perhaps it’s more a story of gaining and then losing and then partially re-gaining faith, which is the pattern of most spiritual journeys, I suppose.

The author is not likeable, but nor does he take pains to be....more This book can’t quite seem to make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a spiritual autobiography or a spiritual biography, and thus it never quite satisfies as either. As the former, it’s a sort of spiritual autobiography in reverse, a story of losing, rather than gaining, faith. Or perhaps it’s more a story of gaining and then losing and then partially re-gaining faith, which is the pattern of most spiritual journeys, I suppose.

The author is not likeable, but nor does he take pains to be. He spends a good 1/6th of the book ranting against conservative politicians and another good 1/6th of the book name dropping. Did you know he used to sit behind Stephen Hawking in class? I know because he mentions it three or four times. The author is a satirist, but you wouldn’t guess that from the conspicuously unfunny book. He’s not very relatable, at least not to me, except when it comes to his opinions of literature; I feel like I could have said almost the same things and have often wrestled with the same questions about my enjoyment of dark Catholic literature. I don’t necessarily have to relate to the subject of a spiritual autobiography to appreciate the journey, but I sometimes felt as if in this book the journey was not a journey in and of itself so much as a vehicle for self-excuse, name dropping, and political ranting.

As a spiritual biography, the book is not much more satisfying. Father Joe seems likeable enough, and I get the impression he was a true man of God who made a real difference in the real lives of a great many people, but he’s the sort of man who, in the words of the apostle Paul, becomes all things to all men that by all means he might save some. Or, in the words of the author, “a spiritual chameleon.” Thus, the Father Joe we see is the Father Joe Tony Hendra needed to see, but the Father Joe Tony Hendra needed to see may not be the Father Joe any particular reader needs to see. So what we end up seeing is Tony Hendra’s idealized version of a monk, but Tony Hendra’s ideals aren’t necessarily my ideals. Thus, for me, Father Joe grows a little uninteresting as the story progresses, and his refusal to call sin sin becomes a bit bland after a point.

Father Joe is not a nuanced or developed figure, and he does not take the title role in the book (the actual title of the book notwithstanding) - that role goes to Hendra himself. In real life Father Joe was perhaps a much more complex and interesting figure than the teddy bear Jesus Hendra portrays him to be, or maybe he wasn’t, and maybe I just find saints boring. But I was honestly more interested in the very brief glimpses Hendra gave us of other monks and priests (ones he didn’t particularly like) than I was with Father Joe; these others seemed to be human characters with sweeping human flaws and idiosyncrasies. The monk shooting the seagull sticks out in my mind, as does this early line from a priest at the unholy boys’ school Hendra briefly attends: “You’re going to settle this with fist and gloves, just as Jesus intended.” I’m not saying either of these is a good model like Father Joe, by any means, I’m just saying that in literature the human is often more interesting than the ideal. When it comes to a "spiritual chameleon" like the apostle Paul, we have a real spiritual biography as well as diverse letters that paint a fascinating and flawed portrait of the man; in "Father Joe", we have only Hendra's fantasy of a flawless, liberal monk.

I give the book three stars because I did enjoy reading it. It is fairly well written, moves at a reasonable pace, and contains a number of spiritual insights (most from the mouth of Father Joe) I felt the need to highlight
(less)

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booklady I'm trying to remember this book ... but it's fuzzy. Your reaction to it, however, almost makes me want to reread it, but then not reread it at the sa...more
Oct 04, 2011 04:29pm

Skylar Burris Great insights, booklady. Thanks for sharing.
Oct 04, 2011 04:35pm

Sep 28, 2007 Cris Ramsdale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the book but not the author. It is spoken of as a book about Father Joe, and it is but it is even more about Tony Hedra who I don't find really likable. I do find Father Joe a fascinating and amazing person who I'd want to emulate in some fashion so I'm thankful to have been introduced to him.

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Dec 01, 2011 Dawn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club-selection

Honestly, I wasn't excited to read this when it was selected for my book club. I considered skipping it, but thought I'd give it a try...

The book is basically a rundown of Tony Hendra’s religious experiences. He begins when he was younger and he began down a path that was maybe not appropriate (I won't expand so as not to spoil it). As a punishment he was taken to a monastery and met Father Joe. The rest of the book explains his relationship with Joe with some of his life stories thrown in. Afte...more Honestly, I wasn't excited to read this when it was selected for my book club. I considered skipping it, but thought I'd give it a try...

The book is basically a rundown of Tony Hendra’s religious experiences. He begins when he was younger and he began down a path that was maybe not appropriate (I won't expand so as not to spoil it). As a punishment he was taken to a monastery and met Father Joe. The rest of the book explains his relationship with Joe with some of his life stories thrown in. After meeting Father Joe, Hendra was positive he was meant to be a monk. He spent all of his school years living toward this goal. He was even disappointed when he got high test scores and Father Joe forced him to attend college. It was after college that he began his downward spiral away from his childhood dreams.

The first half of the book was mostly a bore. While I do believe in God, I'm not religious at all, and the preachy feel to the narrative began to grate on me. I appreciated some of his descriptions, especially that of Father Joe, I could really see Joe twitching and shuffling around. The second half of the book was rather lackluster. I have to admit, I was expecting (and maybe looking forward to) a sordid tale of Hendra's sins, wrought with sexual tension, drug use, and all kinds of other devilish play. But, this was not the case. Hendra placidly glossed over his post-Father Joe life, briefly mentioning some illegal drug use and sexual escapades. He mostly talked about his new, beautiful wife who was beautiful, and did I mention beautiful?, their quest to have a child, and all of his famous close friends (Chevy Chase, George Carlin, etc). Every time he mentioned his beautiful [insert eye roll here] wife and his wish for a son, it was clear he had all but forgotten about the two daughters he had with his first wife. This did not ingratiate him to me. And his constant name-dropping was more pathetic than impressive (although, I do love Spinal Tap!).

All in all, I was mostly glad to finish the darn thing.(less)

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Jun 28, 2012 Sandy T rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, autobiography-memoirs, british-irish

I had never heard of Tony Hendra and didn't realize he was famous until I listened to his narration of this book. But the title intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. What I found though, was that this book titled 'Father Joe' was much less about Father Joe than it was about Tony Hendra. Hendra was ego-centrical, obsessive, self-absorbed, and never missed the chance to do some name dropping. I was fascinated with Father Joe, however. A Benedictine Monk from the age of 17, he knew more about...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religion-christianity, catholicism, england, biography

A Benedictine monk’s day is divided between work and prayer. Dom Joseph Warrilow, who became a monk at nineteen and lived in seclusion at Quarr Abbey in the south of England until his death at age ninety, is described by his friend and follower Tony Hendra, as being as close to a cartoon monk as one can imagine. He was also a saint—a gentle, generous, creative, musical, artistic man and an engineer and architect of genius. He lived a cloistered life yet was able to grasp the essentials of the mo...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

How can a monk, living off the edge of England on an island in a cloistered monastary have impact on a young man over his lifetime who leaves his Catholic childhood, becomes a satirist in Hollywood and New York, lives the life of the rich and famous, and yet in the end must seek shelter from the monk in order to rebuild his shattered life? You'll have to read the book to find out.

Father Joe is wonderfully described and always portrayed as surprisingly in touch and pertinent. I was at times enthr...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Eva Nickelson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This was an interesting tale which started strong and ended rather weakly. The only constant source of engaging material was the bits which featured Fr Joe. Hendra himself has led a rather different lifestyle, and while I am glad that he had someone like Fr Joe who could help him through some of the rough spots, I just got more and more angry at him. In his credits, he mentions his second wife and their young children, but nothing about his two children from his first marriage. He is angry that...more

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Mar 26, 2007 Risa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it, though I no longer know whether to believe it. (See How To Cook Your Daughter, ISBN 0060820993.)

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Mar 05, 2009 bookczuk rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to bookczuk by: EYCLady

Shelves: biography-autobiography-or-memoir, bookcrossing

I heard Tony Hendra on NPR whenthe book came back and thought it sounded grand. I think that as a Catholic, it was particularly interesting to me to read his views on being a Catholic in England and then as a young adult in America, and part of the LA scene.

Father Joe sounds like a remarkable man. He didn't disapoint, although I did get a little miffed at Tony at times for being an idiot.

It's always interesting to read things like this to help you reevaluate your own faith and beliefs- and to ex...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this for my book group. Had not heard of it before, and didn't know anything about the author, who is apparently something of a celebrity. This memoir really grabbed me towards the end. I found the middle somewhat slow and less interesting. The portrayal of Father Joe is beautiful, as is the relationship between Father Joe and Hendra for over forty years. There was something of a surprise for Hendra at the end of Father Joe's life. Father Joe was much more than Hendra had ever known. At t...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Linda M rated it 4 of 5 stars

***I am writing this review about the book itself, not the scandal that ensued after its publication. Memoirs must be read in light of a biased author; we all have selective memories.***

Father Joe is the older, gentler, kinder parent we all want. His wisdom and genuine affection for a extremely broken man touched me very deeply. I agree completely with Tony Henda that Father Joe was a saint. He had reached a place that not many people do. Here is an example of why I loved Father Joe so much:

"Sat...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Persephone rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I decided to get this book out of the library after listening to Hendra's contribution to a MOTH story-telling contest -- a recounting of one of the incidents in this book when he stumbles from the despair of a failed suicide attempt into his first improvisation as the manager in the classic rock doc spoof Spinal Tap.

You know you're in for a strange ride when Hendra begins the book with a monk, then plunges into the farcical yet poignant tale of how he met said monk. Hendra, age 15, was getting...more I decided to get this book out of the library after listening to Hendra's contribution to a MOTH story-telling contest -- a recounting of one of the incidents in this book when he stumbles from the despair of a failed suicide attempt into his first improvisation as the manager in the classic rock doc spoof Spinal Tap.

You know you're in for a strange ride when Hendra begins the book with a monk, then plunges into the farcical yet poignant tale of how he met said monk. Hendra, age 15, was getting embroiled in an affair with a married woman at the time. Of course, all is not quite as it seems. It was the fifties in Britain and Hendra was a struggling Catholic.

In fact, the whole book is about things not being what they seem, of self-delusion and misplaced ambition. It turns out that Hendra, among many other things, was the man impersonating John Lennon howling "Genius is Pain!" on the infamous National Lampoon's Radio Dinner album in the 1970s, and as Lennon himself put it later: "Life is what happens when you're making other plans."

Derailed time and again by substance abuse, atheism, a disastrous marriage, and ego problems (both his and others'), Hendra returns to the Isle of Wight many times over the years for paternal love and guidance to the monk he calls "Father Joe". It is only after Father Joe's death that Hendra learns how far the monk's influence has reached.

Hendra has just enough humility and humour to make this tale of spiritual struggle palatable. The only time I found myself getting impatient with him is toward the end of the book when he speaks lyrically and lovingly of the children of his second marriage, when he has only mentioned in passing the daughters of his first. This seems sometimes to be the privilege of the multi-marrying male, to leave the previous marriage or marriages aside as mistakes (including the resulting children), and cleave to the progeny of the successful marriage.

The book is, however, a thought-provoking read and an interesting angle on English and American humour and satire in the late twentieth century.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Maura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fic, religion

I quite liked this one. Tony Hendra tells about his life in which he starts out as a young teenager getting into trouble, meeting Father Joe who helps straighten him out, and being convinced that he too will become a monk. That lasts until university where he meets up with folks like Graham Chapman and other comedians and realizes what he really wants to do is change the world thru comedy. He ends up in America, writing for National Lampoon and working on some movies (if you recognize him at all...more

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Oct 17, 2008 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

An autobiography of Hendra’s life and how an English Benedictine Monk, Father Joe, influenced him through out his life. I liked the book but there was too much autobiography about Hendra and not enough about Father Joe. The parts he did write about Father Joe were wonderful, capturing the character and bearing of this kindly aging Monk. Father Joe really listened to people and did not judge them in any sense. He knew that with enough love anyone could turn around, no matter what that person had...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Sylvia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm about halfway and I really like this so far. I'm not sure yet what the overall goal / objective of the book is (why did the author write it? what was his point?) but I'm really enjoying the narrative about himself at 14 meeting Father Joe, getting a new perspective on church, religion, the bible, etc. I consider myself agnostic and very curious about different faiths and religions, have a variety of experiences I'm working with, and this book gave me new insight as well. I remember friends i...more

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Feb 06, 2008 Eli Mercer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting read,

Hendra is a unique sort with a thoroughly unique story.

His writing style is a bit choppy and sometimes borders on incoherent, but the feelings run deep in this account of his personal road to salvation, his relationship with Father Joe, and his many extremes along the way.

Hendra has led a very interesting life. The book touches on many personalities and accomplishments in his many years as a satirist and quasi-humorist. He is clearly a talented and intelligent man. But these w...more

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May 03, 2007 Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Nearly everyone (age 15+)

Despite the fact that Father Joe is a Catholic monk, this book is not a book about Catholicism or even Christianity. It is a story of finding faith, losing it, and finding it again. More than that, it is about relationships. Hendra details his deeply personal relationship with Father Joe as it grew and changed over the course of decades and he talks about how that single friendship shaped his relationships with himself and everyone else in his life.

Tony Hendra is a good writer and the story flow...more

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About Tony Hendra

Tony Hendra (born 1941) is an English satirist and writer, who has worked mostly in the United States. Educated at St Albans School (where he was a class-mate of Stephen Hawking) and Cambridge University, he was a member of the Cambridge University Footlights revue in 1962, alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor.

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Books by Tony Hendra

The BOOK OF BAD VIRTUES: THE BOOK OF BAD VIRTUES

BRAD '61: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The 80s: a look back at the tumultuous decade 1980-1989.

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Quotes from Father Joe: The Man Wh...

“I was awake and this was reality, the new reality of nothing--and worse, of having to continue to exist.” — 1 person liked it

“I'm a little frightened, perhaps. We always are, aren't we? When we have to open a door that's always been there...but we've never opened. [...] I mean frightened by the immensity of what lies beyond the door. A God of Love--infinite and eternal. How could I ever be worthy of that?” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/143685.Father_Joe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320501474l/143685.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/143685.Father_Joe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul by Tony Hendra[/url]

Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul

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