‘The Doors of the Ocean’
Bono's lyrics: 'a heart that's been broken, is a heart that's been opened,' ring true for John O'Callaghan, author and creator of 'The Doors Of The Ocean', a new book about suffering and hope.
"I felt a heavy burden of being authentic in my writing about human suffering on one side of the ledger and on the other side, being faithful to what the Bible is actually really saying about suffering,” he says.
Q: This is a genuinely gorgeous book. How long did it take to come together?
We spent about three years making it, that is my photographer friend Stuart from our church and my fantastic young designer, Emily. Hundreds of hours have been spent labouring over this project and we are all relieved we made it to the end.
It is hardback, section sewn, almost 200 pages and I chose thick soft cream paper. We wanted to make something which had a quality of timelessness and something which was atmospheric.
I wanted to make a beautiful book to hold and view, because of the beautiful message of the Gospel.
Q: Who did you create it for?
The brief for the book was to address a specific audience of suffering souls and those who lovingly take care of them. Having worked as a chaplain I know how deep their suffering and grief is.
I drew upon much theological and Christian philosophical reading over many years, as well as my own journey of suffering. There was a lot of prayer and reflection, because I'm aware of my limitations and didn't presume anything.
I was consciously thinking of various people as I wrote the prose pieces. Keeping the specific audience in mind was crucial. Those who have seriously suffered and know God hasn't abandoned them will 'get it'.
Why is it called 'The Doors of the Ocean'?
The title comes from Job chapter 38:8-11
“Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
Q: You’ve included photography and words - are they mostly poetry?
It’s poetry, prose and photography. I wanted to include various genres of writing in it. It was my concept and structure and I did all the written pieces. I had over 200 poems to begin with and I chose 40 or so in the end. My photographer Stuart took over 200 incredible shots and we chose from them. He uses old 1950s German film cameras and has an incredible gift for understanding light.
Q: What response have you had?
One woman just wrote a beautiful card to me about her response to it, which was so lovely.
Q: Why is your name not on the cover and your photo not with this interview?
I didn't want the book to be about myself and I feel great that I didn't do this! God has really led the way for this to be made. It was extremely challenging because I felt I was writing on the hardest topic of all.
Discover The Doors of the Ocean at www.doorsoftheocean.com.au