Praise for Falling Upward Revised Edition
"In Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr's wisdom illuminates the purpose and direction of our life journey. It turns out that our souls are engaged in a sacred dance that leads 'beyond the strong opinions, needs, preferences, and demands of the first half of life' toward the True Self and the 'serene discipleship' of the second half of life."
―The Rev. Dr. Barbara A. Holmes, author of Joy Unspeakable, Crisis Contemplation, and Race and the Cosmos
"Falling Upward is a book of liberation. It calls forth the promise within us, and frees us to follow it into wider dimensions of our spiritual authenticity. This 'second half of life' need not wait till our middle years. It emerges whenever we are ready and able to expand beyond the structures and strictures of our chosen path, and sink or soar into the mysteries to which it pointed Then the promise unfolds―in terms of what we discover we are and the timescapes we inhabit, as well as the gifts we can offer the world. With Richard Rohr as a guide, the spunk and spank of his language and his exhilarating insights, this mystery can become as real and immediate as your hand on the doorknob."
―Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
"Richard Rohr has been a mentor to so many of us over the years, teaching us new ways to read Scripture, giving us tools to better understand ourselves, showing us new approaches to prayer and suffering, and even helping us see and practice a new kind of seeing. Now, in Falling Upward, Richard offers a simple but deeply helpful framework for seeing the whole spiritual life¯one that will help both beginners on the path as they look ahead and long-term pilgrims as they look back over their journey so far."
―Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity and Naked Spirituality (brianmclaren.net)
"The value of this book lies in the way Richard Rohr shares his own aging process with us in ways that help us be less afraid of seeing and accepting how we are growing older day by day. Without sugar coating the challenging aspects of growing older, Richard Rohr invites us to look closer, to sit with what is happening to us as we age. As we do so, the value and gift of aging begin to come into view. We begin to see that, as we grow older, we are being awakened to deep, simple, and mysterious things we simply could not see when we were younger. The value of this book lies in the clarity with which it invites us to see the value of our own experience of aging as the way God is moving us from doing to being, from achieving to appreciating, from planning and plotting to trusting the strange process in which as we diminish, we strangely expand and grow in all sorts of ways we cannot and do not need to explain to anyone including ourselves. This freedom from the need to explain, this humble realization of what we cannot explain, is itself one of the unexpected blessings of aging this book invites us to explore. It sounds too good to be true, but we can begin to realize the timeless wisdom of the elders is sweetly and gently welling up in our own mind and heart."
―Jim Finley, retreat leader, Merton scholar, and author of The Contemplative Heart
"This is Richard Rohr at his vintage best: prophetic, pastoral, practical. A book I will gratefully share with my children and grandchildren."
―Cynthia Bourgeault, Episcopal priest, retreat leader, and author of The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, and The Wisdom Way of Knowing
"Father Richard Rohr has gathered innumerable luminous jewels of wisdom during a lifetime of wrestling with self, soul, God, the church, the ancient sacred stories of initiation and its modern realities, and the wilder and darker dimensions of the human psyche. His new book, Falling Upward, is a great and gracious gift for all of us longing for lanterns on the perilous path to psychospiritual maturity, a path that reveals secrets of personal destiny only after falling into the swamps of failure, woundedness, and personal demons. An uncommon, true elder in these fractured times, Richard Rohr shows us the way into the rarely reached 'second half of life' and the encounter with our souls―our authentic and unique way of participating in and joyously contributing to our miraculous world."
―Bill Plotkin, Ph.D., author of Soulcraft and Nature and the Human Soul
As we journey through the first half of life, we often think that it will end when we have achieved our goals or climbed as high as we can. With this cultural assumption in our heads, we arrive at life’s second half and believe there is nowhere to go but down. Falling Upward challenges us to rethink this perspective, shining light on the idea that the end of our first path is not an ending, but a new beginning.
As we transition into the second half of life, we are confronted by our challenges, mistakes, losses, and other forms of suffering. Little do most of us realize that these sufferings are in fact enormous gifts, opportunities to step outside our comfort zones and broaden our spiritual horizons. In this book, author Richard Rohr offers a paradigm for understanding one of life’s most profound mysteries: how our failings can become the foundation for our ongoing spiritual growth.
Drawing on the wisdom from time-honored myths, heroic poems, great thinkers, and sacred religious texts, Rohr explores the two halves of life to show that the heartbreaks and disappointments of life’s first half are actually stepping-stones to the spiritual joys that the second half of life has in store for us.
This revised edition of the beloved book includes many updates that make the content more relevant to today’s readers. Among these updates is a focus, in practical terms, on how we can live meaningful lives in a world of suffering and conflict. Rohr emphasizes how “getting it wrong” can lead us directly to the spiritual answers we seek.
From the Back Cover
Hope and direction for life’s further journey
True spiritual growth comes when we rise from the ashes of our mistakes, following our unique paths in the growing knowledge of what it means to embrace them. Falling Upward is a timeless and inspiring exploration of how the two halves of life work together to lead us to deep meaning and spiritual joy.
Most of us use the first half of life―with all its projects, goals, and striving―to discover who we were meant to be. But what do we do with this discovery? We work toward becoming our True Selves in God. Our task in life’s second half is to discover the most authentic expression of our souls, to shine forth the unique existence that God has given us, and to do so in gratitude. In this book, Franciscan Father Richard Rohr offers wisdom, practical guidance, and a few gentle warnings as we learn to view the second half of life not as a tragedy and a loss, but as a brand new journey.
People at any age need to understand the arc and trajectory of their lives. Whatever stage you are in today, this book will help you more deeply understand your life’s journey.
About the Author
Fr. Richard Rohr, Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher, is Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. Fr. Richard teaches how God’s grace guides us to our birthright as beings made of Divine Love. He is the author of numerous books, including Immortal Diamond.
