In his follow-up to Returning: A Spiritual Journey, which Bill Moyers called "one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I've ever read," Dan Wakefield shares a decade of his experiences as a "stumbling pilgrim." The overarching theme of this intimate work is the challenge of Christian discernment — trying to figure out the right thing to do in the midst of the highs and the lows of life.
Although Wakefield participates in various churches and sees spiritual directors, he prefers to think of God as Spirit, the Cloud of Unknowing. He calls himself "a plain Christian" rather than a pious or post-Christian. Turned off by the religious right, he is equally critical of what he calls "New Age quickie soul-soothing formulas."
Seekers of all stripes will identify with Wakefield's quest for meaning as he samples Est seminars by Werner Erhard, does two years of Tai Chi study, attends Hatha yoga classes, participates in an Omega Institute conference on conscious aging, pays tribute to the late Henri Nouwen, and interviews Christian novelist Reynolds Price. In the spirit of this tell-all era, the author reveals his reliance upon an anti-depressant drug, the reasons behind his getting a facelift, his experience of heart bypass surgery, and various disastrous relationships with women. Through all his choices, temptations, and wrong turns, Wakefield affirms his Christian faith as "dynamic, changing, and challenging, taking on new shapes and forms, fading for a while, and then manifesting in ways you least expect." Dan Wakefield's spiritual journey is both illuminating and reflective of our times.