Those who knew J. Heinrich Arnold later in life wondered at the way people were drawn to this strange man with a thick accent and easy smile. In his presence, complete strangers poured out their darkest secrets and left transformed. Others wanted him dead.
Gold Medal Winner, 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards in Biography
Silver Medal Winner, 2016 Benjamin Franklin Award in Religion from Independent Book Publishers Association
Finalist for Foreword Reviews’ 2015 INDIEFAB Award for best biography
Those who knew J. Heinrich Arnold later in life wondered at the way people were drawn to this strange man with a thick accent and easy smile. They sensed that here was someone who understood, someone they could trust. What made him different?
Eager to answer this question, Peter Mommsen set out to uncover his grandfather’s past. This is what he found: A boy who faced down Nazis and hunger, growing up on potatoes and radical ideas. The son of a famous intellectual, determined to drop out of school and take to the road. A young lover fleeing his homeland. A new father losing his first child. An unlikely pioneer in the heart of South America.
There, in the jungles of Paraguay, the religious community his parents had founded was twisted by legalism and power-hungry leaders into a cold and lifeless caricature. Arnold was betrayed by those he trusted most, separated from his wife and children, and exiled to a leper colony.
Often his life hung on a knife’s edge. But he knew he couldn’t die yet, because he hadn’t fulfilled his calling, or the promise he had made as a child…
J. Heinrich Arnold was a broken man. Yet those who knew him said they never met another like him. Some spoke of his humility and compassion; others of his frankness and earthy humor. In his presence, complete strangers poured out their darkest secrets and left transformed. Others wanted him dead.
Writer Henri Nouwen called him a “prophetic voice” and wrote of how his words “touched me as a double-edged sword, calling me to choose between truth and lies, selflessness and selfishness.… Here was no pious, sentimental guide; every word came from experience.”
Who was this extraordinary yet simple man? In this gripping and richly spiritual book, Peter Mommsen tells the dramatic true story of the grandfather he hardly knew. Read it, and you will never look at your own life the same way again.
What goes through the hearts and minds of great men? In this wise and sensitive volume, Peter Mommsen brings the life of J. Heinrich Arnold into clear and penetrating focus. It is a book full of vital lessons about leadership, patience, sacrifice, and forgiveness.
Ari Goldman, Columbia University, author, Being Jewish
What a tragic, beautiful life, and recounted with such candor and delicacy. I am delighted, and heartened, and moved to tears.
Daniel Berrigan, poet and author
With candor and honesty, Mommsen shares the joy and pathos, suffering and love, deceit and forgiveness of a Christian community. It is a breathtaking story, and reads like a novel. I couldn’t put it down.
Donald Kraybill, author, The Upside-Down Kingdom
A challenging, deeply moving, and honest book.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
I finished reading the book and was filled with wonder at the life of such a man. What powerful inspiration!
Martin Sheen, actor
Peter Mommsen’s exceptional study, Homage to a Broken Manis one of the finest ways to learn what Anabaptism (really) is. . . . Anabaptism is not a theory; it is a way of communal life. Mommsen’s story gives us a genuine slice of the reality of that communal life
Scot McKnight
One of the most moving books I have read – and one of the most instructive. For all those concerned with living a life of meaning and integrity, it ought to be required reading.
Shira Dicker, founder and president, Shira Dicker Media International
What an extraordinary life! In many ways it’s a sad and sorrowful life – but one lived in the light of the gospel. A truly moving story.
Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University, author, Hannah’s Child
I loved reading about this great man. The book is a treasured part of my library.
Courage, Comfort, and Peace of Mind. This book unexpectedly gave me the courage to face a huge challenge. Life-changing. This is why I read!
Jenni Spice
This is another of those spiritual biographies that epitomizes what Paul had in mind of the Corinthians, as living epistles that continue in...Read More
Review of Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold – A true story of faith, forgiveness, sacrifice, and community
This is another of those spiritual biographies that epitomizes what Paul had in mind of the Corinthians, as living epistles that continue in testimony to Jesus. As Arnold's grandson, Mommsen brings a unique perspective to appreciate this unusual man, this highly gifted pastor…. This is a story of a life packed with so much wisdom about how God works in real human lives -- broken lives -- to transform the world. Anyone who desires to see how much difference Jesus makes in the world should read this book. It rings with the authenticity for which our world hungers.
Rev. Julius McCarter
Rev. Julius McCarter
I was somewhat aware of Eberhard Arnold and the early years of the Bruderhof in Nazi Germany. However, I knew nothing about Heinrich Arnold and his...Read More
Review of Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold – A true story of faith, forgiveness, sacrifice, and community
I was somewhat aware of Eberhard Arnold and the early years of the Bruderhof in Nazi Germany. However, I knew nothing about Heinrich Arnold and his remarkable life of amazing ups and downs. I always include a biography among my devotional readings, and this summer it has been Homage to a Broken Man. It is beautifully written and I commend Peter Mommsen for doing a great job of telling this wonderful story.
Plough is the publishing house of the Bruderhof, an international community of people seeking to follow Jesus together. Members of the Bruderhof are committed to a way of radical discipleship in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount. Inspired by the first church in Jerusalem, they renounce private property and share everything in common in a life of service to God, one another, and neighbors near and far. Learn more or arrange a visit.
