The 38 essays in this anthology examine the "dance of spirit in later life." The book's sections — Second Journeys, Aging as a Spiritual Practice, Serving from Spirit, and Rites of Passage into Elderhood — are in sync with the four issues of Itineraries published during a year-long exploration of The Spirituality of Later Life. In addition, there are new essays that have been added for this edition along with practices and four tributes to elders who have been exemplary models of spiritual maturity.
Bolton Anthony serves as editor along with contributing editors Ron Pevny, Ellen B. Ryan. Claudia Moore, and Randy Morris. He has worked as a teacher of English and creative writing to undergraduates, and as a public librarian, university administrator, and social change activist. In 1999, he founded Second Journey, a social-change organization helping birth a new vision of the rich possibilities of later life; it is a member of the Conscious Aging Alliance, of which Spirituality & Practice's Elder Spirituality Project is also a member.
Second Journeys is a substantive resource for anyone looking for guidance, insight, inspiration, and wisdom in later life. We appreciated the honoring of four elders who have made important contributions to revisioning this stage of life: Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Connie Goldman, Dene Peterson, and Fred Lanphear. We were especially impressed with the Invitations to Practice sessions by Carol Orsborn, Ellen S. Jaffe, Betsy Crites, and Ron Pevny.
In his poem "Fluent," John O'Donohue writes:
"I would love to live
Like a river flows,
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding."
That's how we felt while reading this anthology of essays. It opened our minds to fresh possibilities for later life and planted hope in our hearts.
