Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life [Hardcover]

This has been a difficult review to write - because this is a book that can not be rushed. I often can finish a book at two sittings but this one got under the skin and has taken a while to read through to honestly comment on.

What we have is a series of paradoxes which Richard lets you ponder as he offers thoughts, some quite tangential and the need for personal change; to appreciate that true gain is spiritual not material. It is not written in a fervent evangelistic way whatsoever but in a quiet, almost unassuming amassing of idea after idea that created ripples of thought in my mind and made me think. The process could not be hurried.

It compares the two `halves' of life but note these are not to be seen as mathematical halves but life formation and then living it to the full. The example of Helen Keller mentioned on p 154 shows that the first `half' can be over fairly rapidly - if you let it.

There are quotes from myths, poets, psychiatrists and other thinkers as well as from the bible. There are no gimmicks, no hard sell. In fact that would be the very antithesis of Richard Rohr's approach which I found refreshingly understated. It is really all down to us, as individuals to make the changes, no simple solutions or magic formulae but a succession of gentle encouragements to take the risks. The Christian angle was subtle and draws on material from many contributors.

I would recommend it for those facing a crisis of confidence or even just at a point where they need to re-examine their priorities. Richard describes his journey as a Pilgrim's progress, though the shadows that re-enforce our personal self deceptions and the need to meet the problems of life in all its tragic senses: identity, life transitions, perfectionism, religion as against true belief, suffering and so on.

There is a useful index and brief notes together with a bibliography.

Richard Rohr splits the spiritual journey of life into two, the ego-centric first half of life and the soul-centric second half of life. You do not need to be chronologically middle-aged to read this book, but he suggests that your thirties are as early as you will likely be ready for the move into the second half of life (although it can happen) and many people do not make the change until much later, if at all.

The book is very easy to read in terms of the tone and flow of the text, but despite its relatively short length, it took me quite some time as I really needed time to process the philosophical concepts and wisdom on offer.

This really is the most wonderful text for Christians and others seeking spiritual maturity. Having said that, I think that Christians will be best able to grasp some of his reflections, due to the frequent quotes of the Bible and references to the teachings of Jesus.

He sums up the reactions of readers very succinctly, "For some of you, my quoting Jesus is the only way you will trust me; for others, it gives you more reasons to mistrust me, but I have to take both risks. If I dared to present all of these ideas simply as my ideas, or because they match modern psychology or old mythology, I would be dishonest. Jesus for me always clinches the deal, and I sometimes wonder why I did not listen to him in the first place."

Having said that, there are quotes from all sorts of teachings and literature and he casts his net wide for inspiration. Examples range from Buddhism to AA, from Homer to Carl Jung. I find this refreshing in a Christian author, not afraid to use other sources, so secure is he in his understanding of the second half of life which, as he himself explains, should be all-encompassing rather than condemning and exclusive.

There is so much wisdom that it is hard to pick on one or two topics that he covers with such skill, but for me, following my first reading, it would be that he sheds new light on suffering and its purpose and how the problem can very much form part of the solution. I found this invaluable and will carry that message with me forever.

I am in my thirties and I was delighted to read this book to help me along the journey into the second half of life and to start really living!

Father Richard Rohr's book, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, is a helpful volume that brings into focus a perspective that the second half of life is not fully about death but about living a more generative life. The thesis of Richard Rohr's latest book is that spiritual maturity comes only after we've lived with the rules and the categories and the knowledge that are necessary to the formation of a self - and then asked ourselves some version of "is that all there is?" Written in a conversational style, Rohr argues at the outset that we are a "first-half- of- life culture" largely concerned about surviving successfully." He then goes on to outline a perspective using both classical literature, some Freudian and Jungian Psychology, as well Biblical passages, in which he suggests that down can be a way up.

Thirteen chapters in length, Rohr begins by describing some of the characteristics of the first half of life and the downside of staying in a first half mentality. He cogently argues that poor work done in the first half affects the ability to live well in the second half. He speaks of, in chapter three, a key early chapter, of "discharging your loyal soldier" or one's ego as he argues that "The first battles solidify the ego and create a stalwart loyal solider; the second battles defeat the ego because God always wins." After addressing the issues with living a "first half life" he moves into a presentation of "necessary suffering" in life that includes "shadow work" or dealing with that part of our inner life that must be dealt with as part of life in the second half which Rohr calls "falling upward."

Now one of the questions I began to ask as I read toward the end of the book was, "What are some of the hallmarks of the second half of life?" While Rohr does not give a list of hallmarks, he makes this insightful statement, "Doers become thinkers, feelers become doers, thinkers become feelers, extroverts become introverts, visionaries become practical, and the practical long for vision."

This book is not a "step one, two, and three" kind of a book. It is a primer, a road map for discerning the outlines of the second half of life as journey toward a more spiritual, and really human, kind of life. Some readers will be frustrated with Rohr's lack of a more overt Christian discipleship in this book and feel that it moves toward a broad inclusive mindedness that leads to a relativistic point of view. This is broadly inclusive and wholly inspiring! Depth and life-giving!