Falling Upward, Revised and Updated: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

by Richard Rohr, Brené Brown (Foreword)

On the journey of life, many of us grow up believing that our life purpose is to achieve, succeed, and climb ever higher. When we reach midlife - having accomplished our goals or discovered their limits - it can feel as though there is nowhere left to go but down.

In Falling Upward, Richard Rohr invites readers to see this moment not as an ending, but as a profound new beginning. Drawing on psychology, mythology, poetry, and the wisdom of Christian spirituality, Rohr explores what he calls the two halves of life - and why the struggles, failures, and losses of the first half are often the very doorway into deeper meaning.

As we enter the second half of life, we are forced to confront our mistakes, disappointments, and suffering. Rohr shows how these experiences, rather than being obstacles, can become gifts - shaping compassion, wisdom, and spiritual depth.






This revised edition updates Rohr's insights for a world marked by uncertainty, suffering, and conflict, offering practical guidance on how "getting it wrong" can lead us toward wholeness, transformation, and joy.

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 19, 2026

About the author

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard's teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

Fr. Richard is author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam’s Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond, Eager to Love, and The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (with Mike Morrell).

Fr. Richard is academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity's place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings. Visit cac.org for more information.