On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old
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Narrated by:
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Steve Carlson
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By:
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Parker J. Palmer
About this listen
From beloved and best-selling author Parker J. Palmer (Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, Healing the Heart of Democracy) comes a brave and beautiful book of reflections on eight decades of life and work. Reframing aging as "a passage of discovery and engagement", Palmer says, "Old is just another word for nothing left to lose, a time to take bigger risks on behalf of the common good." On the Brink of Everything is not a "guide to" or "handbook for" getting old. Instead, it's Palmer turning the prism of insight on his experience as a way of encouraging listeners to do the same with theirs. In elegant prose and lyrical poetry, he offers a set of meditations on the meanings of one's life - past, present, and future.
“The laws of nature that dictate the sunset dictate our demise," Palmer writes. "But how we travel the arc between our own sunrise and sundown is ours to choose: will it be denial, defiance, or collaboration?" With gravity and levity, compassion and chutzpah, Palmer writes about cultivating a robust inner and outer life, a sense of meaning and purpose amid pain as well as joy, and the intergenerational relations that enhance the lives of young and old alike. Here's a book not only for elders but also for those younger folks we call "old souls". And this book sings! It includes three songs by Palmer's longtime friend and colleague, singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, written in response to themes in the book.
Palmer and Newcomer hope to engage listeners in an ongoing conversation about what Howard Thurman called "the growing edge" of our personal and public lives. Ultimately, Palmer sees age as a precious gift: "The fact that I've come this far makes me one of the lucky ones." Surprised by the fact that he likes being old, he writes, "Welcome to the brink of everything. It takes a lifetime to get here, but the stunning view and the wake-up breeze in your face make it worth the trip."
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- Unabridged
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For thousands of years, these questions - which span all major spiritual traditions - have served as beacons for spiritual seekers: Who am I? What do I love? How shall I live, knowing I will die? What is my gift to the family of the Earth? As he guides us through these questions, Muller weaves poetry with true stories of love, courage, grief, and transformation in order to show how beauty and wisdom come to us at unexpected times.
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I really enjoyed this book.
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-18
By: Wayne Muller
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My Bright Abyss
- Meditation of a Modern Believer
- By: Christian Wiman
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven years ago, Christian Wiman, a well-known poet and the editor of Poetry magazine, wrote a now-famous essay about having faith in the face of death. My Bright Abyss, composed in the difficult years since and completed in the wake of a bone marrow transplant, is a moving meditation on what a viable contemporary faith - responsive not only to modern thought and science but also to religious tradition - might look like.
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Meditative Poetry in Prose
- By Marianne Murphy Zarzana on 07-21-19
By: Christian Wiman
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To Be Told
- God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future
- By: Dan B. Allender PhD
- Narrated by: William Sarris
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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God wants to reveal himself through your story. Discover how he has written your life so far and how he is leading you into the rest of your story. Everyone wants clearer guidance from God on what to do with their future. In this insightful book, therapist and Professor Dan Allender shows you how to listen to the stories of your life and identify the themes that God has written there.
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Thought Provoking and Inspiring
- By michelle deuz on 04-10-21
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Falling Upward
- A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
- By: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: Richard Rohr
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first half of life, we are naturally preoccupied with establishing ourselves; climbing, achieving, and performing. But as we grow older and encounter challenges and mistakes, we need to see ourselves in a different and more life-giving way. This message of falling down - that is in fact moving upward - is the most resisted and counterintuitive of messages in the world's religions. Falling Upward offers a new paradigm for understanding one of the most profound of life's mysteries: how those who have fallen down are the only ones who understand "up".
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I almost gave up on Christianity until I read this
- By J. Mark Wells on 09-03-14
By: Richard Rohr
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The Sin of Certainty
- Why God Desires Our Trust More than Our "Correct" Beliefs
- By: Peter Enns
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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With compelling and often humorous stories from his own life, Bible scholar Peter Enns offers a fresh look at how Christian life truly works, answering questions that cannot be addressed by the idealized traditional doctrine of "once for all delivered to the saints".
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Title may mislead the actual content
- By Adam Shields on 05-26-16
By: Peter Enns
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The Seeker's Guide
- By: Elizabeth Lesser
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Lesser
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
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America has given birth to a wisdom tradition entirely its own, a spirituality that is as diverse as its people, and that respects the freedom and uniqueness of each individual. Judeo-Christian traditions and the meditation practices of Asia and India...modern science and Native American teachings...Sufism and transpersonal psychology - The New American Spirituality explores what happens when these and other traditions cohabitate our unique cultural landscape.
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Very thorough and enlightening
- By Pony on 08-30-14
By: Elizabeth Lesser
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The Three Marriages
- Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship
- By: David Whyte
- Narrated by: David Whyte
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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According to Whyte, we humans are involved not just with one marriage with a significant other. We also have made secret vows to our work and unspoken vows to an inner, constantly developing self. Whyte's thesis is that to separate these marriages in order to balance them is to destroy the fabric of happiness itself; that in each of these marriages, will, effort, and hard work are overused, overrated, and in many ways self-defeating.
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RARE SELF-HELP BOOK THAT ACTUALLY HELPS
- By Elizabeth on 03-05-09
By: David Whyte
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Life of the Beloved
- Spiritual Living in a Secular World
- By: Henri J. M. Nouwen
- Narrated by: Henri J. M. Nouwen
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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How does one live a spiritual life in a secular world? Henri Nouwen responds from the depths of his heart to this dilemna posed by his friend Fred Bratman. Nouwen's own interpretive reading of the text lends a sense of immediacy to the audiobook.
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Listening Is Life Changing
- By Rich S. on 12-27-13
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Grateful
- The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks
- By: Diana Butler Bass
- Narrated by: Diana Butler Bass
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of the multiple award-winning Grounded and leading trend spotter in contemporary Christianity explores why gratitude is missing as a modern spiritual practice, offers practical suggestions for reclaiming it, and illuminates how the shared practice of gratitude can lead to greater connection with God, our world, and our own souls.
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Too much emphasis on author’s political view
- By John J. on 06-29-18
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The Tao Made Easy
- Timeless Wisdom to Navigate a Changing World
- By: Alan Cohen
- Narrated by: Alan Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In this radically illuminating audiobook, Alan Cohen delves into one of the world’s most venerated wisdom texts for answers and brings the lofty and enigmatic concepts of the Tao Te Ching down to earth in fresh, easy-to-grasp language with practical, personal examples we can use to uplift our daily lives.
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Captivating
- By Casey on 10-04-18
By: Alan Cohen
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Meditations on Intention and Being
- Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Mindfulness, and Compassion
- By: Rolf Gates
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Presented in the form of 365 inspirational daily reflections, Gates helps listeners - from experienced yogis to novices seeking a little tranquility - to fundamentally reconsider their relationships with their minds, their bodies, and the universe around them through self-reflection.
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Loved This Book
- By Brittney on 11-24-16
By: Rolf Gates
What listeners say about On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Meha
- 09-11-20
Full of wisdom.
A friend suggested hus book and I enjoyed his writing style and the wisdom in it. Moving on to his next books.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Fen Beamshimmer
- 07-15-22
Old guy wisdom and reflection
I enjoyed the author reading his book. It is the looking back on a life. I loved both the humor and honesty.
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- Diane J. Ward
- 02-10-23
Continue
Extremely interesting.
This is the first time I’ve read a book by this author.
Think he’s great!
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- D. Cassidy
- 08-06-18
Worth a listen
Parker Palmer is a favorite of mine. He always comes across as wise and gentle. I am not sure this is his best book but it's worth a listen. At first, I thought the narrator sounded very much like Palmer but as the book went on he sounded a little tired. I wish the author had narrated the book. Now that I am finished I will buy a print version for my library.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Terry Peck
- 04-13-19
Parker J Parker’s On the Brink
Thus book was both poetic at times and quite inspirational for someone as mature as the author. But I think would be that for most people.
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- John N. Rampe
- 09-26-23
How to die well
It is a topic we should address and Parker presented it in an engaging manner.
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- SeanRandall13
- 11-07-23
Timely
As I turn 53 the words of Parker Palmer are like a guide. A beautiful invitation to be present, embrace mortality and discover one’s true self. A timely read indeed. Thanks Parker!
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- Toni Edson
- 08-19-21
A New Way of Seeing Life
Seeing Life through the rearview mirror of life, remember "Things are closer than they appear"
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-22-20
Really Good Book
Loved it! Great for those getting older. It makes you think about your life past, present and future.
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- Hope
- 06-29-19
Excellent!
A very insightful and inspiring book by an aging person who loves life but who faces its end with tenderness, honesty, courage and hope. His essays are not stuffed with platitudes but rather deliver a message of inner and outer acceptance of both the light and the darkness in ourselves and others.
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