Soul Songs

A Strand of Praise

Gunilla Norris

Paperback
978-1-958972-84-7
US $22.95 Bookshop Barnes & Noble
eBook available
July 2025

“Between God and the soul, there is no in-between,” said Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century mystic, and that idea frames the poems in this collection.

Norris’ central idea is that mystery is the core of being. It is in us and around us. Given a chance, something deep inside will show up as longing, something that can’t be explained but needs expression. This is what she begins to call “soul singing.”

A well-known writer and poet now in her eighties, Gunilla Norris offers this collection of short prayers, tender moments of awareness, even humming, that express her yearning for and experience of connecting with the Source of all. Norris’ expressions have a universal feel, and speak across a spectrum of traditions. Above all, Soul Songs shows how sometimes we simply can’t help but lift our hearts and sing for the soul’s sake.

Gunilla Norris grew up in Argentina, Sweden, and the U.S. A psychotherapist in private practice for more than forty years, she has been privileged to accompany many people on journeys to growth and healing. As a writer she has published eleven children’s books, two books of poetry, and six books on spirituality, most notably, Being Home: Discovering the Spiritual in the Everyday (Harmony Books), in 1991. She continues to write.

“Oh, that I could/ learn to live/in a small/sacred way/as a keyhole/a hollow reed/a window/or a buttonhole . . .” exclaims a poem toward the beginning of this collection. The short lines, plain speech, and brevity are consistent with the poet’s wish to embrace the small and humble, the unassuming. That said, she is looking for openings, closure, vision, closeness, and the longing in these poems is mighty. It is the ache of love one finds in the tradition of sacred song, which dares to propose relationship with a “trackless immensity—” in these poems addressed as “You.” Such longing leads this poet to experience her fullest humanity within the presence of the sacred brought near, taken into the body, borne, and reborn in the small revelations potential in every moment of pure attention. These poems are prayers.” —Margaret Gibson, State of Connecticut Poet Laureate, 2019-22; author of Draw Me Without Boundaries

“Soul Songs fight through the busy-ness of daily life, aiming for patience, observation, and eventually, joy. Follow these melodious and wise poems through a spare, meditative world where ‘the red geraniums are shaking/their crazed castanets.’ Norris prays in a milk-calm tone, bringing us closer to the divine.” —Tina Kelley, coauthor of nonfiction bestseller, Almost Home: Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope, and poet, Rise Wildly (2020)

“Soul Songs awakens us to the sacredness that suffuses everyday life. This collection is a flow through of heart-wisdom—each song calls forth a precious and often hidden part of our being.” —Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“The sound of silence permeates these pages, framed by the language of prayer, each frame a doorway into moments of life that are staples of the human condition. Moments of dread, hope, fear, longing, regret and wonder, moments that resist all naming but are the stuff of the human experience. Here are words written out of the silence that do not destroy the silence, but invite us to embrace it and find our own way in and through to the source. Here is a book that offers us the solace of simplicity found on the other side of complexity. May it bless you as it has blessed me.” —Parker J. Palmer, author of On the Brink of Everything and Let Your Life Speak

Blurbs for Gunilla Norris’ previous books:

“Along comes Gunilla Norris to reaffirm the possibility of writing prayers about real life in today’s world.” —Rabbi Harold S. Kushne

“A masterpiece, a book that needs to be savored, a book to live with.” —Brother David Steindl-Ras

“Gunilla Norris brings a new awareness of the sacred nature of all life.” —Anne Bancrof

“Gunilla Norris’ simple precepts for meditating and living have a translucent quality. We can all benefit greatly by observing them.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

“I was almost breathless with wonder at the beauty of Gunilla Norris’ words.” —Bishop Desmond M. Tut

“It really nourishes the soul.” —Joanna Macy