Soul Unfinished: Finding Happiness, Taking Risks, and Trusting God as We Grow Older - Softcover

Atwell, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1640601864 ISBN 13: 9781640601864

Publisher: Paraclete Press, 2018

Synopsis

"There is a warm and confident practicality in Atwell's teaching. He is the grandparent one always wanted, and the fellow adventurer who understands."
— Emilie Griffin, author of Turning, Clinging, and Doors into Prayer, from the foreword

More and more people are living into old age—that's a fact. With our careers winding down and our children having left home, we are faced, sometimes for the first time in our lives, with the most basic questions about the meaning of life. This book is a spiritual guide for just such times, and an opportunity to make the most of the last quarter of a good life.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Atwell was chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1981–87, after which he spent ten years as a Benedictine monk, followed by another decade as vicar to a busy parish in London’s trendy Primrose Hill. In 2008, he was elected the bishop of Stockport in the southeast of England, near the border with Wales.

Review:

"Robert Atwell is the Catholic bishop of Stockport, England, near the border of Wales. His experiences as a chaplain at Trinity College, as a Benedictine monk, and as a parish minister have served him well. The evidence is in this top-drawer examination of the challenges of the last quarter of life. Atwell shares the wisdom that has come with spiritual maturity and his yearning for going deeper into God. Retirement used to signal a smooth and comfortable transition into a life of leisure and world travel. Now for many, it is a transition fraught with anxiety and fear over not having enough money. Others at this stage of life enjoy the large role they are playing in the lives of their grandchildren. Atwell sees our 'Third Age' as a time of freedom, abundance, many choices and a Renaissance of creativity and wonder. He dismisses boredom as 'the great disease of the Western world.' He shares this vignette: 'At a party I tried to offer an elderly lady a second glass of wine. 'Don't worry about me,' said Lotta, 'I don't need the alcohol. I get sloshed on people.' She had no time to be bored because she was interested in life and people, and delighted in them.' Atwood cherishes memory as 'the matrix of our identity' and sharing the stories of our lives as one of the major pleasures of the last quarter. He states that contentment should be the crowning glory our lives but often it isn't. He suggests we feed this stream with gratitude, joy, the providence of God, and the prayer of protest." —Spirituality and Practice

“Atwell begins Soul Unfinished with an invitation. In our day and age, we can generally expect to live longer than our parents and grandparents. So when retirement rolls around, we can choose to not give up but keep on living. Atwell exhorts us to continue taking risks, share wisdom and to go deeper in our relationship with God.  Atwell then describes retirement age, life in later years, memories and the role of elders in nurturing corporate memory, the healing painful memories, forgiveness and reconciliation, self-discovery and becoming and finding happiness, joy and gratitude. I have ministered to seniors and can see the wisdom and sensitivity with which he approaches the issues. Seniors need to be told that they still have something valuable to offer, that their life is not over and that this is the time to deepen their faith relationship.  Nearing sixty himself, Atwell doesn’t write disinterested advice as retirement is just around the corner for him too. I gleaned from Atwell insights into how to speak meaningfully to people at this stage in life; yet the people who will find this book most valuable are seniors and those nearing retirement.  I think this would make a great gift book for the well-loved retiree in your life.” —Thoughts, Prayers, and Songs
 

About this edition

• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1640601864
• ISBN 13: 9781640601864
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160