My conversation with Richard Rohr was one of the most popular in The Advent of Evolutionary Christianity series. In that December 2010 interview, Richard mentioned his forthcoming book, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, which is now available. Heres the publishers description

InFalling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or gone down are the only ones who understand up. Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as falling upward. In fact, it is not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders whohave come to their fullness.

Explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness

Offers a new view of how spiritual growth happens loss is gain

Richard. Rohr is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines

This important book explores the counterintuitive message that we grow spiritually much more by doing wrong than by doing right.

The following is a Q&A with Richard on the subject of his new book

What do you mean by the two halves of life?

The phrase two halves of life was first popularized by Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist. He says that there are two major tasks. In the first half [of life] youve got to find your identity, your significance; you create your ego boundaries, your ego structure, what I call the creating of the container. But thats just to get you started. In the second half of life, once youve created your ego structure, you finally have the courage to ask: What is this all for? What am I supposed to do with this? Is it just to protect it, to promote it, to defend it, or is there some deeper purpose? The search for meaning is the task of the second half of life. (This is not always a chronological matter Ive met 11 year-old children in cancer wards who are in the second half of life, and I have met 68 year-old men like me who are still in the first half of life.)

Why is the further journey of the second half of life especially important for people of faith who are seeking a deeper relationship with God?

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Evolutionary Christianity || Richard Rohr: Falling ...