40 Days of Fasting : 40 Inspired Recitations

Glenville Ashby's 40 Days of Fasting: 40 Inspired Recitations is a profound spiritual journey born from a period of disciplined fasting that coincided with Ramadan and Lent in April 2025. Through these forty days, Ashby channels a divine voice named Carlos, delivering poetic recitations that explore themes of divine mercy, inner purification, mortality, and spiritual awakening. The poems have a prayerful tone; at times they are exploratory of the spiritual sentiment of the personae, at times a direct engagement with God, and at times observant. They put together personal trials with universal truths, underlining the fact that true awakening comes through surrender, love, and divine connection. The work is both a personal diary and a mystical manual that invites you into a sacred conversation with the higher self and the divine.

What fascinated me most about this collection was its rich symbolism and poetic grace. Ashby employs images like “the light of God surrounds me” and “the veil is drawn,” evoking divine presence and the protective barriers between worldly illusion and spiritual truth. Poems such as “Nuqta”—a humble plea to be purified—exemplify the quest for inner sanctity, while “Shekinah” celebrates divine comfort. The recurring motifs of surrender and divine mercy highlight the Christian, Islamic, and metaphysical traditions, and the author portrays suffering, death, and life as part of a divine canvas. Ashby’s reflections on mortality, such as “On that day,” reveal a profound recognition of divine justice and the eternal soul. This collection elevates fasting from mere ritual to a spiritual journey, a call for humility, patience, and divine love, reminding us that true awakening is rooted in silent, reverent listening to the divine voice within. The book beautifully captures the varied seasons of the soul and the spiritual climates we must navigate. 40 Days of Fasting is a gift of love that one should not keep but share with those seeking God and light.