Threshold of Discovery: A Field Guide to Spirituality in Midlife

by L. Roger Owens

- Thoughtful exploration of midlife spirituality through the prism of nature walks - Study questions for each section Roger Owens, facing a "dark night of the soul" as he turned forty and entered midlife, was en-couraged by his spiritual director to think of it instead as a "threshold of discovery." Rather than go on a grand adventure like walking the Appalachian Trail or the Camino de Santiago, he decid-ed to mark his fortieth year by taking forty walks in a nearby nature preserve. With patience and attention, he explored the concerns rising with the inevitability of death, his boredom with life, and the reality of his changing faith, changing images of God, and changing sense of self. The result is forty short chapters that weave together insightful stories of his walks with accessi-ble history and practices of Christian spirituality and the lives of saints. This field guide to the spirituality of midlife facilitates readers' personal journeys through ques-tions of faith, purpose, and relationships. It is not solely a memoir, but a work of wisdom litera-ture that uses engaging first-person narratives to explore universal themes and spiritual inquiry. Wise and imaginative, and with study questions for each section, Threshold of Discovery is the companion guide for a thoughtful Christian journey.

181 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2019

About the author

Co-Pastor, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, Durham, NC

Reviews

[Renee Prymus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying reading this book. As both a teacher of creative nonfiction and someone soon approaching 40, I enjoy the structure and themes Roger Owens tackles. In some hands, a book of 40 walks could be tedious as we notice every single thing on each walk with the writer. But Roger has an eagle-eye for the details of each walk that matter to his musing theme: we notice how the walks interweave with his life, teach him to see a thing anew in a contemplative kind of way.

Roger writes about a walking stick that accompanied him on each of the 40 walks, and I am starting to see this book as a walking stick for others who want to approach mid-life thoughtfully, contemplatively, wondering what it will teach us. This book is a companion for the journey.

On Walk 14, Roger writes of his companions as angels: “And given the challenge of seeing God in the world, a challenge that seems insurmountable at times, I see how desperately I need angels who can help me see where to look and how to look and what to look at, so I won’t miss the miracle my own life might become.” And that’s what this book does – it’s a little angel inviting us to look at our own lives, saying, “Look at that, and that, and that…”

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful, deceptively simple, inviting, wise book! Owens gently and honestly opens up the spiritual challenges of midlife, and invites the readers to explore this new terrain with him, catching glimmers of surprising grace along the path.

[Shana Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful meditation on approaching midlife. Readers will find common ground with Owens and his struggles with aging, changing circumstances, and his missteps in the past.

[Carole Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owen’s posts on Brevity’s blog led me to read Abba, Give Me A Word and now Threshold of Discovery, his wonderful journey on the cusp of midlife. Because I write about spirituality and nature, I keenly enjoyed his reflective walks in the nature preserve near his home and interactions with his children. The author’s deeply personal perspective as a man and father differed at times from mine as woman and mother. But I savored the wisdom all the more.

[Paul Yanchek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful reflections and insights