The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri J. M. Nouwen
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri J. M. Nouwen
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The Return of the Prodigal Son

Author: Henri J. M. Nouwen

Narrator: Fred Sanders

Unabridged: 4 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/19/2025


Synopsis

With over a million copies sold, this classic work is essential reading for all who ask, “Where has my struggle led me?”

Recommended reading for Hallow’s 2026 Lent Pray40 Community Prayer Challenge

A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on an unforgettable spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell.

As Nouwen reflects on Rembrandt’s painting in light of his own life journey, he evokes a powerful drama of the classic parable in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son’s return, the father’s restoration of sonship, the elder son’s resentfulness, and the father’s compassion. The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as God loves, and to be loved as God’s beloved, will be seen as the ultimate revelation of the parable known to Christians throughout time, and is here represented with a vigor and power fresh for our times.

About Henri J. M. Nouwen

Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932–1996) was the author of The Return of the Prodigal Son and many other bestsellers. He taught at Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame universities before becoming the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, Canada, a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities assist each other and create a home together.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roger on July 25, 2017

Coming Home The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1636 The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1642 The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1668 I was trained as an art historian, so I tend to look at Rembrandt's three versions of the parable of the Return of the Prodigal Son in terms of the artist's stylistic evolution: the......more

Goodreads review by Oceana on February 15, 2024

I really ate this up once I got to the middle chunk. Beautiful truth about the reality of the prodigal story relating to each one of us. The Father is always eagerly waiting for us return to his embrace. Very encouraged.......more

Goodreads review by Marie on September 03, 2016

The Futile, Powerless God of Henri Nouwen "Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God." – Henri Nouw......more

Goodreads review by Meghan on November 28, 2021

Using Jesus’ well-known parable and Rembrandt’s painting of The Return of the Prodigal Son, Nouwen performs a thorough and meaningful close-read, expounding on the spiritual roles of Father, Brother, and Son (or, more appropriately, Parent, Sibling, and Child, since Nouwen does not dwell on gender s......more


Quotes

"The Return of the Prodigal Son is a beautiful book, as beautiful in the simple clarity of its wisdom as in the terrible beauty of the transformation to which it calls us.”—New Oxford Review