Falling Upward, Revised and Updated

An update to the bestsellingFalling Upward from Franciscan Father Richard Rohr

In the revised and updated edition ofFalling Upward, Richard Rohr seeks to help readers come to terms with the two halves of life. In this book, Rohr teaches us that we cant understand the meaning of "up" until we have fallen "down." More importantly, Rohr describes what "up" can look like in the second half of life.

Most of us tend to think of the second half of life in chronological terms, but this book proposes a different paradigm. Spiritual maturity is found "when we begin to pay attention and seek integrity" through a shift from our "outer task" to the "inner task." What looks like falling down can be experienced as falling upwardand is not necessarily connected with aging. This new edition focuses on practical guidance that you can use to live a life of love and meaning in a world of suffering and challenge.Falling Upward is an invitation to living the gospel and a call to ongoing transformation.

• Gain a spiritual perspective on the "the common sequencing, staging, and direction of life's arc" and learn how to bring forth your gifts in the second half of life
• Grapple with difficult feelings, fears, and emotions associated with "great love and great suffering"
• Learn how we "grow spiritually much more by doing it wrong than by doing it right" Understand why so many of us resist falling into the second half of life

Readers of Rohrs previous works and those new to the remarkable teachings of this Franciscan priest will find comfort and inspiration in this guide to lifelong spiritual growth.

Fr. Richard Rohr, Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher, is Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. Fr. Richard teaches how Gods grace guides us to our birthright as beings made of Divine Love. He is the author of numerous books, includingImmortal Diamond.

Foreword vii

The Invitation to a Further Journey xi

Introduction xv

1 The Two Halves of Life 1

2 The Heros Journey 11

3 The First Half of Life 17

4 The Tragic Sense of Life 33

5 Stumbling Over the Stumbling Stone 41

6 Necessary Suffering 47

7 Home and Homesickness 55

8 Amnesia and the Big Picture 61

9 A Second Simplicity 67

10 A Bright Sadness 75

11 The Shadowlands 81

12 New Problems and New Directions 87

13 Falling Upward 97

Afterword 103

Coda 111

Notes 115

Bibliography 123

The Author 127