Beyond Burnout

In Beyond Burnout: Learning Balance from the Rule of St. Benedict, Pamela M. Patnode shares a spiritually grounded exploration of burnout through the lens of Catholic faith and vocation. Drawing on the Rule of St. Benedict and the lives of the saints, this much-needed book bridges contemporary wellness research and timeless spiritual wisdom.

Beyond Burnout speaks to those who are overwhelmed or exhausted by modern demands. Framing the antidote to burnout through the saints and their vocations, Patnode expounds on the roles of rest and boundaries, leisure and relationship, and prayer and worship as healing balm for burnout.

Understanding the need for practical tools, Patnode offers actionable steps, like "dialing it down," to move out of burnout and toward flourishing in faith. Beyond Burnout will empower you to pursue a balanced life in Christ — one marked by fruitful activity, rest, leisure, and prayer. This book reveals a path forward for everyone who longs to grow in their relationship with God in a way that fosters lasting joy.

Reviews

Beyond Burnout is a book we will read and recommend, and will come back to again and again. What sets this apart from the volumes written about burnout and balance and the Benedictine way are Pamela Patnode’s gift for storytelling and her honesty. From the wisdom of St. Benedict and his Rule for beginners, to the lives of saints and contemporary companions on the journey, readers will discover they are not alone in their search for balance and wholeness. And, with Patnode, they will discover “a still more excellent way”—a way marked by small and practical steps, a way of peace and joy. Such is the way of St. Benedict. Such is the way of Christ, our storyteller Savior. What a powerful book Pamela Patnode has given us! --Mary Stommes, Oblate Director, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, MN

"While the problem of burnout is widespread generally, it can afflict Christians in a particular way, especially those who are inclined to suppose that “dying to self” means boundless—and boundary-less—service to others. Dr. Patnode has done us a great service in showing us a more excellent way, a way prescribed by the Rule of St. Benedict and embodied in lives of the saints throughout the ages. Deftly interweaving the insights of health professionals, interviews with those living under the Holy Rule, and candid reflections on her own experience of burnout, Dr. Patnode has given us a hope-filled alternative to the distorted habits of mind and heart that dissipate our energies and rob us of our joy." --Dr. Bill Stevenson, OblSB, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology

“So many women today carry full loads and full calendars, yet struggle on with tired souls. How can we live with zeal and give our ‘all’ to building the kingdom without burning out? And when we find ourselves depleted, what is the path forward? In Beyond Burnout, Pamela Patnode turns to the enduring wisdom of Saint Benedict, St. Hildegarde of Bingen, St. Thomas Aquinas, and others to help us recover a rhythm of life rooted in prayer, work, rest, and love. With the heart of a teacher and the wisdom she’s drawn from years as a Benedictine Oblate, Pam shows us a path forward from burnout to a holy rhythm in the duties of our days.” --Marcie Stokman, Founder and President of Well-Read Mom, Inc.

One of the great seductions of the Evil One is the suggestion that self-reliance and frenetic activity is the mark of worth, success, and accomplishment. And yet, like all seductions, such an approach is an unreality and brings nothing but despair and unhappiness. Dr. Pamela Patnode diagnoses this all-to-common modern malady and pours water on the Evil One and modernity by suggesting a return to the wisdom of St. Benedict. The Rule of St. Benedict that has governed the Benedictine Order for nearly 1500 years has as its primary goal, quaerere Deum ("to seek God"). In seeking God and finding Him, we uncover the truth about ourselves, our place in the cosmos, and achieve a true peace—a tranquility of order—that brings true flourishing. Beyond Burnout is both a deeply personal and vulnerable recollection and a manual of hope for those struggling in our modern world. From the wisdom of those who did indeed find God, to his sons and daughters who seek to find him today, this is a book that enables us to come to know the loving Father who created us; and in so doing, to come to know ourselves and, subsequently, to love those entrusted to us with the fire of the Lord's unquenchable love. --John M. DeJak, Director, Secretariat of Catholic Education, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops