The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth

by Madeleine L'Engle

We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes… –Madeleine L’Engle, from The Rock That Is Higher

Story captures our hearts and feeds our imaginations. It reminds us who we are and where we came from. Story gives meaning and direction to our lives as we learn to see it as an affirmation of God’s love and truth–an acknowledgment of our longing for a rock in the midst of life’s wilderness.

Drawing upon her own experiences, well-known tales in literature, and selected narratives from Scripture, Madeleine L’Engle gently leads the way into the glorious world of story in The Rock That Is Higher. Here she acknowledges universal human longings and considers how literature, Scripture, personal stories, and life experiences all point us toward our true home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Spirituality, Faith, Religion, Christian, Christianity

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.

Reviews

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently re-read Madeleine L'Engle's most well known book A Wrinkle In Time, and this afternoon finished The Rock That Is Higher Story As Truth, which I had been eagerly wanting to read.

L'Engle writes poignantly about how she survived a horrific car accident, her struggles and joys of being a writer, mother, grandmother, and wife; her theological views, love for the power of art, and how we all have our own unique life narrative filled with failure, struggles, beauty, mystery, and joy. This book is amazing. This quote below is my favorite from the book.

"The happy ending does not come automatically, and it does not come free. We must embark on the Quest, knowing that it involves dangers. We are not protected by our goodness or our own superior powers. We know we are not qualified, and we rejoice in being servants. The happy ending begins with our recognition of our wholeness, which is symbolized for us in the elements of the fairy tale. We are much more than we know, and we can begin to find that more through our willingness to go on the Quest, and to welcome in ourselves the younger son, the elder brother, the true princess, the benevolent king, the enchanted beast, the wise old woman, all leading towards that redemptive fulfilling of the journey which is our story."- Madeleine L'Engle

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeleine L'Engle is one of, if not my very favourite authors. This book was mixed for me. I found that she wandered more than usual and at times, I lost the thread of each chapter/essay. On the other hand, the chapter on Story as Truth is one that repeatedly made me want to stand up and cheer. Her reflections on how scripture can be true without necessarily being literal and the dangers of entirely literal thinking put into words a sense that I have always had but would never be able to articulate. L'Engle often expresses the essences of my faith in ways that I could never articulate and that is why so often, I am filled with a sense of gratitude as I read her writing.

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as my 2020 Lenten bedtime book.

It was a wonderful choice. Considering story - and true story - in to the Gospel, King David, and interwoven with her own life events was a beautiful way to study the incarnation and Resurrection.

L'Engle and I have theological disagreements, but she always makes me think and her perspective helps me to understand others with whom I may disagree in specifics but not essentials.

Her long career as a storyteller makes her eminently qualified to contemplate Story as Truth (and I compare with Mattie Ross in True Grit who calls lying "stories" - an all to frequent mischaracterization). I've been tracking what she calls chronos/kairos through other books - Pieper Leisure the Basis of Culture and Makoto Fujimura's Refractions. Her final chapters - Creative Act, Redemptive Act, and Resurrection were so encouraging and perfect during this past Holy Week. She talks about Myth and Fairy Tales in ways confirm much I read from Angelina Stanford.

"Story makes us more human, and until we become fully human we will not be ready for home." p38

"This is because Scripture is true. Truth is deeper and wider and much more demanding than many people would like, but Jesus promised that it would set us free." p 49

"We do not need faith for facts; we do need faith for truth." pg 94

"It is, I suspect, fear of story, fear of imagination, fear of the unexplainable. The less vocabulary we have, the more limited our words, the more frightening the imagination becomes." p 102

He grinned. ... "You're much better when you don't think."

And that is true. It doesn't mean that I must never think. It doesn't mean that he hadn't been training me [to co-lead studies] for a good many years. It doesn'tm ean that I didn't have a full barrel to draw from. It does mean that the creative actions do not come from the cognitive part of the brain alone, but from a much larger area. When I write, I realized, I do not think. I write. If I think when I am writing, it doesn't work. I can think before I write; I can think after I write, but when I am actually writing, what I do is write. This is always the instruction I give at writers' workshops: "Don't think. Write." And I put a time limit to the assignments. "You may not work on this for more than an hour. If you're not finished at the end of an hour, that's all right. Stop." It's a lot easier to write without thinking if there's a time limit. p 144

"Many of the symbols which are now purported to be New Age, or, even worse, signs of devil worship, are Christian symbols. Indeed they may be misused and distorted by groups which are not Christian (a black mass is a blasphemous distortion of the Christian Eucharist), but that does not mean we need to toss them out and hand them over to the enemy! Give up the rainbow as a glorious sign of God's covenant with his people? Never! Give up the crescent moon and the stars and call them symbols of S--n rather than visible signs of the glory of God's creation? Never! The enemy can't have them unless we weakly and thoughtlessly relinquish our very own heritage." pg 185

"Too much Christian art relies so heavily on being Christian that the artist forgets that it also must be good art." pg 200

"... the people I know, in literature and in life, whose chief concern is fulfilling themselves, are always empty." p 202

"In the fairy tale we find hope of interrelatedness, and sometimes this hope comes because fairy tales deal forthrightly with brokenness. ... In fairy tales, and in life, there is risk--risk of failure, of horror, of death. But there is no despair. Rather, there is an unspoken affirmation of the ultimate happy ending." p 225-226

Once there was a man who was a Namer. That is what he was called by God to be, and to do. Out of the earth,in the days of the beginnings, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would name them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name.

Adam's vocation as a son was to be a Namer; that was how he was to co-create with the Maker of the Universe. If you name somebody or something, you discover that the act of Naming is very closely connected with the act of loving, and hating is involved with unNaming--taking a person's name away causing anyone to be an anonymous digit, annihilating the spirit.

When we are unNamed, we are broken; all around us we see fragmented, mutilated people. And the world offers little help for healing, for knitting up the "raveled sleeve of care." p 229-230

"And is the importunate widow a witch or a wise woman? It all depends. Witches do not have either humility or a sense of humor; wise women can laugh." pg 247

"We are not privileged because we deserve to be. Privilege accepted should mean responsibility accepted." pg 253

"Meditation is the practise of death and resurrection." pg 263

"But the beast and the princess and the journey [of fairy tale] are not without us, but within us, and we ourselves are the kingdom over which they are now to rule." pg 263

"People who try to sell us cheap grace equate integrity with self-indulgence, freedom with anarchy, liberation with chaos. It doesn't work. Only discipline and obedience to the strict law of love allow us to be free. It is only the daily discipline of work at my desk which frees a book to be bore. It is only the discipline of daily prayer which allows the freedom of meditation and contemplation. A river isn't a river when it overflows it banks. The stars would be raging, flaming destruction if they had not been set in their beautiful courses. So with grief; each day of our lives is preparation for grief, preparation for living in Jesus so he may live in us." pg 273

She ends with He is risen indeed! (italics hers, pg 296) which was perfect to finish with yesteray.

May the Lord help us to understand the many facets of story.

[Daniel Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading it was easy for thoughts like, "Is this really orthodox?" or "Where is she going with this?" to float across my brain. But much like Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, this book is a tonic. Madeleine L'Engel's writing is thoroughly Christian in the same way that other mystics are - she is good about pointing out that often we obsess over facts when scripture is about truth. She writes about the value of story and points to the story telling Savior. I don't agree with everything she says, sometimes because it makes me too uncomfortable and as she would point out that's exactly what the words of Truth do.

But like other mystics of the faith she reopens me to the mystical, wondrous beauty of Christianity. And as the title would indicate, the Rock is central to this memoir, her story, and writing. For her and this book I am grateful.

[priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 recommend. L’engle’s tenderly-written words of insight & gentle challenge are timeless—structured around story, this book is winsome and captivating in articulation of the Creator’s inexorable love and longing for all of Creation. reading and discussing this with Em has been a reflective & surprisingly relevant practice for 2025.

one of numerous favorite quotes:

“An institution, be it religious, medical, legal, or educational, tends to move very slowly, holding onto the status quo, afraid of rocking the boat, loath to accept that familiar ideas may have to be left behind.
We shouldn’t wait for the institutions to do the changing, but be willing to change ourselves, for in the end it is we who make up the institution, and if we become more open, more loving, more interdependent through the lavishness of God’s love, then we can and will make a difference.”

[E.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not entirely what I was expecting - I thought there would be more emphasis on Story (I've been reading Tolkien and Lewis on Story lately, so that's where my mindset has been) - and instead got a gentle rambling of meditation, sometimes connected to stories, sometimes not. Still, a beautiful little book, filled with hope and faith. And the latter part does tie more into Story than the first.

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this one. We have a lot of theological differences but also the book didn’t seem as focused as I would have liked.

[Skye Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many beautiful thoughts on how stories are truth. Each chapter was basically a different essay or collection of thoughts, and while sometimes L’Engle gets a little side tracked, it always comes together in the end and I appreciate all her little wanderings. This one felt very stream of consciousness but because I love L’Engle as person and her writing SO MUCH I just simply enjoyed it all.(: she gave me a ton to think about (per usual) and I’m always thrilled to find that the things I’m currently studying and interested in are things that she loves too and has already spoken on thoroughly.

My copy of this book looks like I’ve owned it for 10 years because it’s so filled with highlights and crinkled pages. I almost destroyed it just due to all my scribbling and obsessing as I read.😂🤍

[David Bjorlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a bit of fluff between, but then there are these absolute jewels of wisdom:
"I am using myth in its ancient meaning--that which was true, that which is true, that which will be true, that strange truth which is as elusive as home."

"As I read Scripture I saw that God used strange people to do the work of Love, ordinary people who were just like the rest of us, not perfect, not morally virtuous, but people who listened to God and, often reluctantly, did what was asked of them."

"Story helps us with the questions that have no answers. I wish the Church (of all denominations) would be brave enough to acknowledge that there are questions which, during our mortal lives, are not going to be answered. There are no answers to the wonder of Creation, the marvel of the Incarnation, the glory of the Resurrection. Too many answers lead to smug self-righteousness and--even worse--to human beings, rather than God, deciding who is and who is not loved by the Maker. Can't we trust God?"

"God is constantly breaking human rules in order to offer the greater rule of love, speaking through people shunned by society."

"It is only when we are not rigid in our expectations of our communities and when our doors are wide open, that [Christ] may choose to come, with the stranger, into our midst."

"Almost everything good can be abused, but that doesn't make the original good any less good, and if it's fun, it may well be joy in the Lord and in Creation, not sin. When we deny our legitimate pleasures we are denying the Incarnation for Jesus came to affirm, not deny."

"[T]he hysterical need for a common enemy is an enemy of story. If the only way we can believe that our faith is valid is by accusing another faith of being false, then our faith is shaky indeed."

""It is easier for a single human being to be open and willing to change than it is for an institution, but if enough of us single creatures are open to God's amazing revelations, our institutions will ultimately come alone with us. Long before the church institution was ready, many individuals were willing to accept that the earth is round and is a planet circling a parent sun in one of countless galaxies. An institution, be it religious, medical, legal, or educational, tends to move very slowly, holding onto the status quo, afraid of rocking the boat, loath to accept the familiar ideas may have to be left behind.We shouldn't wait for the institutions to do the changing, but be willing to change ourselves, and if we become more open, more loving, more interdependent through the lavishness of God's love, then we can and will make a difference.”

"Someone who loudly affirms Jesus as his personal Savior may be further from knowing the Lord than someone who lovingly longs to be able to do so and hardly dares, knowing the enormity of such an affirmation and the incredible responsibility it brings."

"I structure my life in the daily readings of Morning and Evening Prayer, and in the Eucharist. Then, when tragedy strikes unexpectedly, as it so often does, the framework for grief is already there."

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound yet accessible.

“But who wants a comprehensible God in the aftermath of an incomprehensible accident?”

I came to this book while grappling with a tough season and it met me where I was. Written in a season of recovery, after a devastating car crash, Madeleine L’Engle writes a contemplative book on theological topics. It is neither a memoir nor a theology book but feels like having a long chat with a good friend of faith.

At times the book felt a bit rambly but that felt fitting for the season she was writing in (and to), and when thoughts felt incomplete in the moment most of them (I think maybe all) came full circle by the book’s closing. I will say, in the first chapter her train of thought was hard to follow, but overall I found that the rambling, softer tone of the book actually welcomes the reader in. When she poses theories I didn’t, at first, agree with I felt comfortable disagreeing with her and leaning deeper into the read. Madeleine L’Engle is a careful thinker and even in times when something didn’t align with my own thinking, I respected her opinion constantly because this book (if not each one she has written) is proof that she never thinks about things merely at surface level.

I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about and/or seek truth in a soft way. Plus, extra extra emphasis on the recommendation if they love books and story. I especially loved the section where she discussed fairytales and how they impact and shed truth into our lives; it made me reconsider so much I learned in college as an English major about fairytales and their place in literature.

There’s so much wisdom in this volume—I underlined so much! She has clearly read her Bible very deeply and has so many insights to share but gives them all with the utmost humility. I surely will be re-reading in the years to come and returning to it before then to flip through and read what was underlined.

[Emily Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not my favorite Madeleine L’Engle book but her wisdom shines through nonetheless. Interesting to hear how her tone changes as she ages into her 70s - she seems a bit more cynical than in previous books. But she always says things in a way that I find myself thinking “yes! That’s what’s I think!”

“The universe is far greater and grander and less predictable than anyone realized and one reaction to this is to turn our back on the glory and settle for a small, tribal god who forbids questions of any kind. Another reaction is to feel so small and valueless in comparison to the enormity of the universe that it becomes impossible to believe in a God who can be bothered with us tiny, finite creatures with life spans no longer than the blink of an eye.
Or we can simply rejoice in a God who is beyond our comprehension but who comprehends us and cares about us.” ❤️

[Samantha Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book I loved, and parts of it I skimmed. L’Engle writes in a stream-of-consciousness style that I sometimes got lost trying to follow. But there were some good parts, too, that sparked my own thoughts and creativity.

[Jacci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a slow read for me but there were hidden gems in it. The best part was feeing like I got to know this amazing author a little bit as a person.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one and learned some things, but I don’t think it was her best. There were some rants that I didn’t enjoy and some straying from the topic.

[Mary Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this one slowly and sooo good. Madeleine wrote this book almost 30 years ago but still so pertinent. I experience the world as story so this book speaks to me. Lots of things I am going to have to spend some time thinking about.

[Skylerhayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this if you want to feel like grandma is sharing her wisdom with you, with a few tears along the way.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of truth, beauty, and goodness. It has become my favorite of L'Engle's nonfiction books.

I read this as one of my devotionals for the last month or so but it is not a devotional.

I found too many favorite passages to try to narrow down any to post here.

[Merrilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is much food for thought in this book and I am going to read it again soon because I found it both instructive and inspirational. I love this author. She is a genius.

[Joe Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeleine L'Engle has an incredible way with words. I love the way that she captures the imagination and challenges the mind through story. In this book, she helps the reader understand the gift of story-telling. She does this both through teaching and beautiful story-telling of her own.

Most people think of truth as something that can be proven with verifiable facts and figures. The gift of story-telling grants access to deep truths that are far more important than facts.

As a Christian minister who is deeply immersed in the bible on a daily basis, the way that Madeleine reflects and expounds on the Christian Scriptures is inspiring. In her stories, she uncovers valuable gems that are sometimes difficult to see at first glance. I have picked up many helpful tools in these pages that are bound to benefit me for years to come.

The Rock that is Higher is a beautiful book that folk from all walks of life are bound to enjoy and benefit from.

[Bailey T. Hurley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it halfway and could not hear anymore. She is wise and has wonderful thoughts but it was like a diary of thoughts that never take me anywhere or provide much meat to the life of faith.

[Janet Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I could read over and over and still get more out of it.

[Olivia Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

L’Engle is a talented storyteller, but this one felt distracted. I still dog-eared many pages and appreciated her thoughts on the impact of story—especially as it pertains to the greatest Story—but I did not love this one. Her and I share some theological differences and some of those were hard to stomach in this book. If nothing else, it caused me to go to Scripture and think through some foundational truths, but I would not recommend this particular book. She has so many others that are wonderful!

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rock that is Higher appears to be a book about storytelling, but half of it is a memoir detailing L’Engle’s slow recovery from a car crash at age 72. In her usually winsome way, she writes about how stories help to make us human. Those were the parts I loved best about the book.

Tolkien, G. K. Chesteron and C.S. Lewis all wrote about Christianity being the “truest” myth. In their case they are not referring to myth as “an unfounded or false notion,” but as “sacred tales that explain the world and man’s experience.” L’Engle is firmly in their camp, but she goes much farther than they do in declaring that most of the Bible is not to be taken literally. On page 166 there is the cryptic sentence: “Do you believe in the literal fact of [Christ’s] resurrection? NO! I believe in the resurrection!”

She spends a large portion of the book defending God’s reputation, saying that the “tribal god” of the Old Testament was the result of the primitive view of God held by Old Testament writers. Any mention of God’s wrath is a misunderstanding of His true character, since, in her opinion, all wrath is necessarily vindictive and sinful. (She seems to forget that wrath is mentioned in the New Testament too.)

Although I disagree with her on many theological points, that does not mean I cannot appreciate her fine writing. I still consider her Wrinkle in Time trilogy to be a masterpiece of YA fiction.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delightful devotion on the ways that story communicates things that cannot be said in any other way - and how they are more true for being told, for being stori-fied. The stories we tell reveal what we believe about the world and shape our being in the world. They can even call us to ways of being in the world that no lesson or proverb ever could.

Do not prepare for a novel or a story told in these pages, however. These are meditations, reflections, and devotions. You need not even read the whole thing. I highly recommend Chapter 4: Story as Truth and Chapter 11: Story as Redemptive Act for the most original and powerful reflections.

I did get a chuckle out of the very 1990s context, which L'Engle appropriately references throughout the book, including responses to accusations of being too "New Age" to be a a Christian. Oh, how things change... and how they stay the same.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Madeleine L’Engle is an incredible undertaking! Somehow she manages to take what appears to me to be extremely different genres and tie them all together into a well written book about the truth in story and myth. Her writing style is engaging as she shares with the reader her long held beliefs about religion. While I can’t say I’m completely on board with everything she wrote, I very much enjoyed reading this book and felt uplifted by many of the comparisons and observations she shared. I also loved how her joy from a lifetime of loving Jesus shines through on each and every page.

I feel this book is definitely worthy of 5 stars.

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 stars

One of L' Engle's finest. Highly recommended!

PP. 56 - 57: Her description of meal time, this shared meal in so many times & various people - so beautiful and real.

PP. 106 - 107 - Complication and Peripety

"Don't we trust the Lord enough to tell him how we really feel? To question? To rail? But we must also accept that sometimes we don't hear answers."

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely reflection on Story, and how crucial it is to our growth, our formation, and inspiration for our lives. The main "inspiration" that L'Engle gave me here was a further prod to return to Scripture and deepen my knowledge of it.

[Apryl Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

She doesn't so much "write" as "have a conversation"

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last fall, my sister-in-law’s father drove off a straight road on a clear morning and rolled his car. It didn’t look like he made any attempts to stop. His phone alerted the police who sent paramedics to his location and took him to the hospital.

He went from joking with the police officers to emergency surgery to life support in the ICU within hours. There he remained for months. In the first month I visited, sitting in the ICU waiting room entertaining my niece, while my sister-in-law sat vigil by her father’s bed.

People came and left, many died, while her father slept. I watched families in the waiting room, saw them smile at my little niece as a distraction from their unimaginable grief.

I picked up snippets of conversation. Most people were there because of car accidents, more and more motorcycles accidents and one teenage girl had been shot by a boyfriend. Another young woman collapsed and no one knew why. The family was more confused than anything.

“We just need to know what happened,” they said.

In the middle of this waiting room place I remember Madeleine L’Engle’s account of the car accident that almost took her life. The truck that ran the red light, broke her bones and lacerated her organs.

Thus begin The Rock That is Higher, an account of healing and the things which heal us. Story is healing.

L’Engle explores story as she sits in her hospital bed, weaving together her personal journey, truths she’s found, stories she’s heard and Scripture. After reading The Rock That is Higher I find I’m consciously reading Scripture as healing narrative which rings more true than the ways I used to read. I find I’m seeing grief as narrative.

Last year was very difficult for my sister-in-law but her father’s entering the year in rehab with his own story of healing, of miracles and of truth. When I visited two weeks ago he said something very similar to L’Engle after her accident, “There’s still a lot left for me to do.”

L’Engle says, “Someone told me that the difference between happiness and joy is sorrow.” Story leads us into a much deeper, richer, more redemptive human experience, which often comes only after sorrow.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'Engle wrote The Rock That is Higher in the aftermath of a terrible automobile accident. It would appear that the lengthy period of recuperation gave her time to muse over Christianity's place and roll in her life and life in general. L'Engle does not separate the spiritual and secular, but sees the ways in which the two are closely knit together. She sees God and Jesus as an intricate part of home, family, love and truth in the lives of believers.

L'Engle comes from a line of storytellers. She recognizes how humanity uses stories to enrich, explore, reveal, and teach. When reading and listening to stories Christians can see God in the truths that are uncovered. She makes the point that truth is not to be confused with facts. Fiction can be a wonderful vessel for truth. After all, didn't Jesus use parables to reveal truth?

While theologically I am not one hundred percent aligned with L'Engle. She graciously allows and encourages personal exploration and interpretation. Her writing gives the reader much to think about.

This book is written in a very personal style. The reader feels as if he or she is sitting across the table from the author with a cup of tea and an open family scrapbook. L'Engle reveals intimate moments from her life's experience in very poised prose. I thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with a copy of The Rock That Is Higher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.