Retrospection and Introspection
A Spiritual Autobiography of Christian Science, Faith Healing, and Biblical Self-ExaminationBy Mary Baker Eddy
Length2h 25m
About this audiobook
Mary Baker Eddy's *Retrospection and Introspection* (1891) is a concise spiritual autobiography that traces the formative experiences behind her emergence as the founder of Christian Science. Moving from childhood religious questioning and personal suffering to her discovery of spiritual healing and the establishment of a worldwide movement, Eddy presents her life as evidence of divine guidance rather than as ordinary personal memoir. Its episodic structure, biblical allusions, devotional diction, and admonitory tone place it within nineteenth-century Protestant autobiography while also reflecting the era's fascination with spiritual experience, alternative healing, and religious reform. The work is therefore both testimony and theological interpretation, designed to illuminate the principles later systematized in *Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures*. Born Mary Morse Baker in 1821, Eddy was shaped by New England Congregationalism, chronic illness, bereavement, and sustained engagement with questions of prayer, Scripture, and healing. Her experiences, including the healing episode she regarded as decisive in 1866, convinced her that divine Mind—not material force—constituted the basis of genuine restoration. Written after years of controversy and institutional development, this volume responds to public curiosity while defending the spiritual logic of her life and mission. Readers interested in American religious history, women's authorship, nineteenth-century reform movements, or the rhetoric of spiritual autobiography will find the book especially rewarding. It offers an indispensable primary source for understanding Eddy's theology, self-fashioning, and enduring influence.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (64)
Includes Goodreads
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length2 hrs 25 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 2, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Miscellaneous Writings (Annotated)
17RECUPERATIVE INCIDENT
2RETROSPECTION AND INTROSPECTION
18A TRUE MAN
3ANCESTRAL SHADOWS
19COLLEGE AND CHURCH
4AUTOBIOGRAPHIC REMINISCENCES
20"FEED MY SHEEP"
5VOICES NOT OUR OWN
21COLLEGE CLOSED
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6EARLY STUDIES
22GENERAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND OUR MAGAZINE
7GIRLHOOD COMPOSITION
23FAITH-CURE
8THEOLOGICAL REMINISCENCE
24FOUNDATION-STONES
9THE COUNTRY-SEAT
25THE GREAT REVELATION
10MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE
26SIN, SINNER, AND ECCLESIASTICISM
11EMERGENCE INTO LIGHT
27THE HUMAN CONCEPT
12THE GREAT DISCOVERY
28PERSONALITY
13FOUNDATION WORK
29PLAGIARISM
14MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS
30ADMONITION
15FIRST PUBLICATION
31EXEMPLIFICATION
16THE PRECIOUS VOLUME
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