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Parker J. Palmer

On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old Audio CD – Unabridged, June 26, 2018

by Parker J. Palmer (Author), Steve Carlson (Narrator)

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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-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, written in response to themes in the book. Table of Contents Prelude I. The View from the Brink: What I Can See from Here II. Young & Old: The Dance of the Generations III. Getting Real: From Illusion to Reality IV. Work & Vocation: Writing a Life V. Keep Reaching Out: Staying Engaged with the World VI. Keep Reaching In: Staying Engaged with Your Soul VII. Over the Edge: Where We Go When We Die Postlude

Language

English
Publisher

Dreamscape Media
Publication date

June 26, 2018
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

6.04 x 1.13 x 5.04 inches
ISBN-10

1974905365
ISBN-13

978-1974905362
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Parker J. Palmer
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Hardcover
238 offers from $1.66
Parker J. Palmer
462
Paperback
149 offers from $1.99
Richard Rohr
3,284
Hardcover
175 offers from $3.70
Parker J. Palmer
423
Hardcover
83 offers from $9.65
Mary Oliver
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From the Publisher

Parker J. Palmer

Parker J. Palmer is a writer, speaker, and activist on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal, he holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press.

Palmer is the author of ten books—including several award-winning titles—that have sold over 1.5 million copies and been translated into ten languages: On the Brink of Everything, Healing the Heart of Democracy, The Heart of Higher Education (with Arthur Zajonc), The Courage to Teach, and more.

In 1998, a national survey of 10,000 educators named Palmer one of the thirty “most influential senior leaders” in higher education and one of the ten key “agenda-setters” of the decade. Palmer and his wife Sharon live in Madison, Wisconsin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Parker J. Palmer is a writer, speaker, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal, which offers long-term retreat programs for people in the serving professions, including teachers, administrators, physicians, philanthropists, non-profit leaders and clergy. He is the author of nine books--including several award-winning titles--that have sold over 1.4 million copies and been translated into ten languages.

Steve Carlson has been a working actor for over thirty years. In his varied career, he has been a regular on three television series: General Hospital, The Young & the Restless, and A New Day in Eden. He has also appeared in scores of others and has starred or co-starred in ten feature films. Most recently, he has narrated many successful audiobooks.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dreamscape Media; Unabridged edition (June 26, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1974905365
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1974905362
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.39 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.04 x 1.13 x 5.04 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,842,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,374 in Aging (Books)
- #11,421 in Books on CD
- #15,902 in Happiness Self-Help

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923 ratings

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Parker J. Palmer

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PARKER J. PALMER is a writer, teacher, and activist whose work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. Author of ten books—including several best-selling and award-winning titles—that have sold nearly two million copies, Palmer is the Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. In 1998, the Leadership Project, a national survey of 10,000 educators, named him one of the 30 most influential senior leaders in higher education and one of the 10 key agenda-setters of the past decade. In 2010, he was given the William Rainey Harper Award (previously won by Margaret Mead, Marshall McLuhan, Paulo Freire, and Elie Wiesel). In 2011, the Utne Reader named him as one of "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.” In 2021, the Freedom of Spirit Fund, a UK-based foundation, gave him their "Lifetime Achievement Award” in honor of work that promotes and protects spiritual freedom. For 20-plus years, the Accrediting Commission for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has given annual Parker J. Palmer “Courage to Teach” and “Courage to Lead” Awards to directors of exemplary medical residency programs. "Living the Questions: Essays Inspired by the Work and Life of Parker J. Palmer," was published in 2005. Born and raised in the Chicago area, he has lived in NYC, Berkeley, CA, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, PA. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

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2 star		3%
1 star		4%

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Carol L. Gloor

Still a white male, financially secure guy, isn't he?

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2018

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I've never read any complete book by Parker Palmer before. I, too, have suffered depression, and I remember in the midst of that seeing a small snippet of his that was completely honest about that experience, so I looked forward to this book, since I am now in my 70's and hoped for something to which I could relate. Yes, I could relate to his feelings and suggestions in the book, but I am not representative of aging people in the US. I too am white, financially secure, and in relatively good health. So his suggestions in the final chapter, i.e., to engage with the younger generation, to embrace all of one's experience, and to visit the natural world regularly, are still possible for me. But what this guy doesn't get, despite all of his admissions that he understands how privileged he is compared to others,is that most people are not like him. I note that many of the other reviewers find the insertion of politics objectionable. I don't. I find the sub rosa insertion of arrogance to be more objectionable than any political views. What about the woman who is estranged from her family and lives in a chair in a nursing home? What about the widower who can't keep his house clean, has mobility problems, and whose only human contact is some other old guys whom he meets at the local McDonalds for coffee every morning? How are they supposed to connect with the younger generation? Maybe the woman in the chair could have a chat with her nursing assistant , and it might turn into something good. Maybe the old guy could volunteer at the high school to teach shop. What Mr. Palmer fails to realize is that, like it or not, we old folks carry the past with us--so how likely is either of the foregoing to really happen? It would take a spiritual, existential transformation that Mr.Palmer fails to touch upon. And the last recommendation is truly a joke. Us old folks are all supposed to visit something like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to find fulfillment. I guess the woman in the home should just look out the window and hope? And the old guy at McDonalds should attempt a walk in the woods? I am as privileged as Mr. Palmer is, and, like him, I am going to die soon. All of these words about dying well are just crap, not to put too fine a point on it. Who knows what will happen when we look death in the face? Mr. Palmer talks early in his book about those dying in agony and those who left earth in peace, and about not liking so much anymore the great Dylan Thomas poem about not going gentle into that good night. But by the end, it's clear that we are supposed to all die in peace. I, for one, still like the Dylan Thomas poem, because isn't striving for the light, in whatever form, all we have ever known? Good luck, Mr. Palmer, maybe it's time you really got "fierce with reality," as you suggest.

203 people found this helpful

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Courtney Martin

A book on aging as opening rather than closing

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2018

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As I've witnessed my family and mentors age, I've often wondered what sets apart those who manage to open up to the world, get more humble, more curious, more grateful, more awed, and those that close in, get bitter, start navel-gazing, lose sight of wonder and the wideness of the world. This book feels like one extremely readable, often funny, deeply vulnerable version of the answer. It's about relationships. It's about pausing to take in the preciousness of these brief, terrible, beautiful lives. Parker is one of the most intimate writers I know. He always makes you feel like you're having a 1:1 conversation when you read him. It's such a gift. I'm going to give this book to every older friend and family member I have.

96 people found this helpful

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David Laden

An unself-conscious spiritual summing up in the author's elder years.

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018

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The key features of this book that lead me to give it a high rating are: (1) It builds on the lifetime experience of a man who's nearly 80 and has served as a teacher, a community organizer, the founder of a non-profit organization, and a writer and lecturer. He has a wide range of experience, and he's learned a lot from it. (2) While the book faces squarely into the challenges that come with aging and coming to terms with mortality, it does so with good humor and compassion for the human struggle, both personal and communal. (3) Though I am much younger than the author and have pursued a different outer path in life, I found his insights to be relevant to me and, I think, people of many ages - insights that feel universal, not age bound. (4) The book has the courage to address the current political situation, and the author has the courage to confess his own complicity in it, as a citizen. I highly recommend this book to people who want to explore such things.

32 people found this helpful

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Lucira Jane Nebelung

Engage Fully with Life

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2018

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I am in my mid-60s and Parker Palmer’s books have been an integral part of my life’s journey for the past 20 years. First they inform my personal growth, then inspire my work with leaders. “On the Brink of Everything” is a next step forward.

This is much more than essays on aging, on “getting old” gracefully. It is a profound manifesto for fully engaging with life in the context of these troubling times as a conscious human being of any age. It both challenged me to confront myself and my blind spots and invited me to see things in a more integral, undivided way.

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and we are invited to stand on Palmer’s shoulders now. So I purchased a copy for a 26-year-old friend, so that he gets a head start and doesn’t wait to live a life of self-examination and self-awareness that is usually an initiation of our mid-life transition.

A highly recommended read.

24 people found this helpful

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Ken Mafli

Part Poetry, Part Wisdom—All Great

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2018

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This is the first time I have been introduced to Parker J Palmer. Why have I not read any of his books before?! He is part poet, part storyteller. I am in my 40's and it is refreshing to have someone in the sunset of life talk about what it is like to age—but do so gracefully. I think two quotes from the book sum his wisdom up best: "I would be lying if I said that I am awed by all that comes with old age ... and yet it is because of the diminishments of age, not in spite of them, that I often find myself in awe as I stand on the brink of everything." I will be using this, in part, as a roadmap of how to set my sights as I move through life. A lot of wisdom here.

56 people found this helpful

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K. Moss

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2020

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This book was recommended by a philosopher I respect, and I guess that this may have boosted my expectations. In practice, whilst Parker Palmer's writing style is folksy and accessible, it feels strangely denatured and devoid of any real substance. This is a reorganisation of old material, previously delivered in other contexts. It is too heavily dependent upon aphorisms to provide dependable wisdom upon which real people could safely depend as they approach death - indeed, whilst reading the book was not without its enjoyments, as it went down it felt like a kind of palliative that had the effect of dulling one's edge. Much as I wanted to like it, in the end, I just felt cheated.

C. Meban

Gorgeous reading, full of depth and humour

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018

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Parker J Palmer writes clearly, with perception and humour, and wiht the benefit of long years of deepening self-awareness. He combines his passion for justice and peace with a spirituality that has integrity - and gives a toe in the door to discovery of online content - music, podcasts etc, which is potentially great company on what can be a long and lonely road to truthful living. I'm not 50 yet, but I'm certainly glad to have read this now, rather than later in life!

One person found this helpful

Foxhill

Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2019

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Good product delivered promptly

Mr. M. H. Trigg

great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2019

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lovely read thought provoking !

Jehad Abu-Ulbeh

Interesting Book

Reviewed in Canada on April 17, 2020

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The book has good points. It was not what I was hoping for. I needed a book about aging. It did not flow easily for me and it had poems that I did not understand or enjoy. The book felt like samples of previous writings. I felt bewildered and about the situations the US still in.

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On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old Audio CD – Unabridged, June 26, 2018

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