More than 40 years ago, Jean Vanier, author of the bestselling Becoming Human, invited two men with developmental disabilities to live in his home. This simple act of friendship and compassion has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Vanier is the founder of the international movement of L’Arche communities and of Faith and Light, two organizations that bring together people with developmental disabilities and the friends who share their lives. A respected humanitarian, Vanier espouses the simple and inspiring philosophy that the marginalized, weak and lonely can teach us great things and that true spirituality can come from our relationships with the less fortunate. There are now more than 130 L’Arche communities on six continents and in 30 countries, welcoming people of all spiritual beliefs.

Our Life Together gathers significant letters from four decades of Vanier’s correspondence, beginning in 1964, the year he founded the first L’Arche community. In a spare and meditative style, Vanier reflects on world events, his travels, his own journey through his faith and his deep desire for interfaith dialogue and peace. Read together, the letters reveal a man of tremendous insight and compassion, whose example can inspire us all to do great things.

JEAN VANIER, the son of former governor general Georges Vanier, was educated in England and Canada. After eight years in the Royal and the Canadian Navy, he went to study in France, where he received his doctorate in philosophy, later teaching at St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto). Distressed by the plight of people with developmental challenges, he founded L ’Arche communities, and Faith and L ight, two international networks of communities for people with disabilities. With many bestselling books and humanitarian awards to his name—including the Pope Paul VI International Prize, the International Peace Award and the Companion of the Order of Canada—Vanier lives in Trosly, France, in the original L’Arche community he founded in 1964.

Jean Vanier's profile page