Getting a Read on Ashley: A Severe Mercy
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
It’s my firm belief that when a person recommends a book to me, they’re handing me an inside look at their soul. In this series, “Getting a Read,” I try to uncover truth about books and their recommenders.
In this guest post, Ian Webber, recommender of The Center Cannot Hold, talks about one of my favorite books: A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken.
THE RECOMMENDER
Ashley Johnson, a voracious consumer of the written word who I am convinced, much like felines, is capable of viewing a world hidden from the rest of us. Ashley and I knew each other peripherally during our college days at Hardin-Simmons University, but it was only in our post-college lives that we discovered our natural friendship full of nerdy anecdotes, deep wounds, and inappropriate jokes. Our Alma Mater would be ever so proud.
HOW TO READ IT
While this book is versatile enough to gracefully compliment any setting, this treasure is at its strongest when your soul is weary and thirsting for a glimpse of that maddeningly elusive authenticity that thrums with so much truth that your bones must translate the reverberations. Much like a tuning fork to a musician, yearning, loss, and ennui are the perfect tools to focalize this tour de force; call them up from your soul if you can before cracking this work open. It is a memoir with the majesty and scope of a galaxy, that nevertheless shines in its granular details - as such, coffee (black), chocolate (dark), and the crackle of Mumford & Sons (on vinyl preferably) might also be necessary accompaniments.
REVIEW: A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
“…he who increases knowledge, increases sorrow.” Eccleasiastes 1:18
A Severe Mercy is at its core a love story of infinite depth and layer; helpless adoration intertwines with towering intellectualism and more than a hint of voyeurism—a reader can’t help but feel a witness to the intimacy between Sheldon Vanauken (Van) and Jean Davis (Davy). Their relationship feels somehow so raw and familiar, that it elicits an instinctual recognition that this must be something transcendent.
Through a deep love of poetry, a shared longing for the sea, and witheringly sharp wit, Van and Davy forge a connection that would move Ellen DeGeneres to tears. Christening their love “The Shining Barrier,” the two vow to build something so pure and transparent as to forever protect and immortalize their lasting love for one another. In a stunning one-up of the classic line “As you wish” from The Princess Bride, Van has the Humoresque by Antonín Dvořák played for Davy and tells her, in what I can only imagine was the most suave of low voices, “now and always: The Humoresque means I love you.” The memoir overflows with these gently intentional offerings of one another as these two incandescent individuals begin to harmonize and shine all the more radiantly together.
Through wartime and adventure alike, our intrepid power team devours every book the other has ever read. (I imagine they started with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and worked their way to Ulysses but it wouldn’t surprise me if they reversed the order either.) The exercise allows them to challenge each ideal or thought that has crossed the other’s path and with an ease only the brilliant can seem to readily grasp, they clutch tightly to that in which they recognize beauty and discard that which holds no significance. Of those things to be discarded is Christianity; though the topic fascinates them, their Shining Barrier is intact and bereft of nothing. They need no god to complete them. They don the title of “pagans” and feel completely satisfied in their never-ending and ineffable love for one another.
Though the two encounter the trials present in every valuable undertaking, this couple, through a combination of total transparency, deep intuition, and an unwavering dedication to one another, seem to pole vault roadblocks that might take a typical couple months to navigate. Their connection is such that they seem to anticipate even the smallest desires of the other. In one scene while hosting a dinner party, Davy notices the unlit candles on the mantle, and moments later, Van rises to light them, despite conversing with a different couple across the room. Through convenes called “Navigators Counsel,” the two take pulse checks and compare their progress to their own litmus test: The Appeal to Love – the simple idea that something is either helpful or hurtful for their love. Those things that did not deepen their love were simply discarded.
Naturally, something this idyllic is bound to foreshadow devastation (so says my crusty and cynical heart) and for the sake of your own catharsis, I will only say that this story is best experienced firsthand through your own eyes, reader.
THE RECOMMENDER IN REVIEW
There are those rare folks you meet who are born with a natural depth and richness to their being, and just as rare, those who develop it through great trial or growth – Ashley is both. A pervasive peacekeeper and an enneagram 9 through and through, Ashley will move mountains to ensure those around her can breathe easier or walk lighter while simultaneously working to be as discreet as possible so as to never cause the recipient to feel guilty or obligated to return the favor. This characteristic, among many others, makes it no surprise that a book this magnificent would resonate with her; it speaks to the gentle and unseen strength she wields quietly but with great intentionality. In a world of clamoring noise, Ashley has managed to retain that wildly rare talent to think with intentionality, act with urgency, and care with consistency – traits you will surely feel ever present in this fantastic read.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Check Half-Price Books if you will, but be ready to hunt. Ashley found a copy of this book’s sequel “Under the Mercy” in the C.S. Lewis section—far from memoirs and certainly out of alphabetical order. I found mine under Marriage and Family at Barnes and Noble. Your best bet is either to ask for help or order a copy online.
