Anthony deMello, SJ: The Happy Wanderer: A Tribute to My Brother is an accessible and enjoyable biography – and at times, moving to
read. Bill deMello (born 1944) has synthesized an impressive amount of
information about the life of his internationally famous older brother, Tony (1931-1987), whose works about prayer and
spirituality still attract people today. In the course of this book, Bill
emerges as an amiable and self-deprecating narrator. Tony emerges as brilliant,
full of jokes and stories, and an enormously attractive Jesuit retreat director
and speaker. Bill intertwines highlights from his own life in India with the events
in Tony’s life.
Tony’s life included the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in the
Roman Catholic Church, which instructed religious orders such as the Jesuits to
study their original charisms and undertake renewal of those charisms. As Bill
makes clear, Tony worked in the formation of Jesuit seminarians, directing new
Jesuits during their 30-day retreats following the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit
order. Later, Tony worked as a retreat director with other Jesuits who were
involved in the formation of Jesuit seminarians. Because his book Sadhana: A Way to God (1978) sold well
in English and was widely translated into other languages, Tony was also in
demand in numerous countries as a retreat director and speaker.Early in the book, Bill tells us how a business trip took him from his adopted home in
Thomas J. Farrell, Professor Emeritus
Homepage: www.d.umn.edu/~tfarrell