On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old [Hardcover]

From beloved and bestselling author Parker J. Palmer (Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, Healing the Heart of Democracy), comes a beautiful book of reflections on what we can learn as we move closer to the brink of everything.

Drawing on eight decades of life -- and his career as a writer, teacher, and activist -- Palmer explores the questions age raises and the promises it holds. Old, he writes, is just another word for nothing left to lose, a time to dive deep into life, not withdraw to the shallows.

But this book is not for elders only. It was written to encourage adults of all ages to explore the way their lives are unfolding. It's not a how-to-do-it book on aging, but a set of meditations in prose and poetry that turn the prism on the meaning(s) of one's life, refracting new light at every turn.

From beginning to end, the book is laced with humor as well as gravitas -- beautifully enhanced by three free downloadable songs from the gifted singer-songwriterCarrie Newcomer, written in response to themes in the book.2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medalist in the Aging/Death & Dying category.

“Parker Palmer is one of our wisest minds and lives and one of my greatest mentors. He has the spirit of a poet and the stature of a prophet. There is no one I’d rather eavesdrop on as he ponders ‘the brink of everything.’ This book is a companion for not merely surviving a fractured world but embodying—like Parker—the fiercely honest and gracious wholeness that is ours to claim at every stage of life.”
—Krista Tippett, founder of On Being Studios, author ofEinstein’s GodandBecoming Wise, and winner of the 2013 National Humanities Medal
 
“Parker Palmer is the most integral and wholehearted teacher of our age. For nearly eight decades, he has seen much, questioned everything, and returned witl“G