100 Reasons for Living

"An absorbing autobiography and a profound spiritual guide. Richard Carter believes that God wants us not just to have life, but to have it abundantly. He shows that we can find the joy of God’s love by just paying attention to the world and the people around us. Friends and lovers, liturgy, a tree in the park, conversations overheard in the bus, a death confronted with faith, a hilarious Islamic poem — all of them remind us that everywhere God is trust, consolation, companionship, hope — and love. After reading this book pessimism is just not an option. I have spent happy hours reading and re-visiting this beautiful gathering of memories and reflections, meetings and insights, which grows deeper, more personal and more moving every time I return to it. In fact what we have here is a kind of Spiritual Exercises, reminding us that the love of God daily surrounds us, and suggesting how to devote time and attention to discern it and to be nourished by it. It is a great gift, and a great achievement." -- Neil MacGregor
'Read this book; once as an autobiography in fragments, an assortment of patches inviting you to make a quilt. Read it a second time and realise you are being invited to pray with Richard, to see with his eyes, to be instilled with his infectious compassion, humour, irony, tenderness, joy. Read it a third time and let it read you: that it may stir you not just to spectate but to participate, not only to be moved but to move, not simply to enjoy but to replicate. For here is a gift to help you perceive how God cherishes the world; and rejoices in you.' -- Sam Wells
'What a wise, enchanting, necessary book this is. Intimate, life-changing and wonderfully generous. Reading it at this moment of darkness is like taking part in an intimate conversation which you realise afterwards has lightened and simplified the way you feel part of the world – so you walk, as Richard Carter says, more softly.' -- Ruth Padel
'Every wave owes the beauty of its curve to the retreat of the one that precedes it. We owe so much to Richard Carter for this beautiful book. His devotion to Christ and dedication to the Gospel of Justice is not only inspirational, it is full of integrity. Richard believes deeply in the holiness of the affections of the heart. This journal of the soul is an authentic effulgence of light for all seekers of the truth in these dark times. There is so much in this book that is precious, profound and deeply moving.' -- Bernárd Lynch
'This is a book of quiet depth and natural beauty. Each reflection invites you to pause, notice, and be present to the grace woven through ordinary life. Richard Carter writes with tenderness, honesty, and attentiveness; drawing on the richness of a life lived across cultures and continents, his words are like windows letting in light. These meditations aren’t neat answers but open doors to wonder, gratitude, and love.' -- Mirjam Ngoy-Verhage
'At a time when hope feels to be in short supply, Richard Carter invites us as readers to unclench our fists and let go of our fantasies of possessiveness in order to join the action of God, which is to pray, lament, hope and change. Holding together meditations that are at once realistic, bracing and insightful, we are invited into a way of life that is truly abundant, and encourages us to lift our eyes to the horizon, invited too to imagine what is beyond.' -- The Revd Lucy Winkett
'Richard Carter’s writings have always moved me, and 100 Reasons for Living; The Diary of a Grateful Heart does so too. He holds attention to the world in one hand and attention to spirituality in another, and is thus a trustable friend. Sweet as his writing is, there is no saccharine here. He is in the world, looking at it, and always keeping his gaze on that which will keep the heart courageous, kind and clear.' -- Pádraig Ó Tuama