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Flying, Falling, Catching: An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom
Henri Nouwen’s never-before-published story of his surprising friendship with a traveling trapeze troupe.
During the last five years of his life, best-selling spiritual author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life, a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction.
In Flying, Falling, Catching, Nouwen's colleague and friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents his unpublished trapeze writings framed by the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. Readers will meet Nouwen as a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.
What will we do with our lives, and with whom will we do it? In this story of flying and catching, Nouwen invites us all to let go and fly, even when we are afraid of falling.
During the last five years of his life, best-selling spiritual author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life, a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction.
In Flying, Falling, Catching, Nouwen's colleague and friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents his unpublished trapeze writings framed by the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. Readers will meet Nouwen as a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.
What will we do with our lives, and with whom will we do it? In this story of flying and catching, Nouwen invites us all to let go and fly, even when we are afraid of falling.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 8, 2022
36 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Henri J.M. Nouwen
450 books2,115 followersHenri Jozef Machiel Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest, theologian, psychologist, professor, and spiritual writer whose work profoundly shaped contemporary Christian spirituality. Born in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, in 1932, Nouwen pursued religious studies and was ordained a priest in 1957. His intellectual curiosity led him to study psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen and later at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, where he explored the connection between faith and mental health. Throughout his life, Nouwen remained committed to integrating pastoral care, psychology, and spiritual theology in a way that addressed the emotional and existential needs of believers.
Nouwen held teaching positions at prestigious institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He authored over three dozen books and hundreds of articles, with notable works such as The Wounded Healer, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Life of the Beloved, and The Inner Voice of Love. His writing, often rooted in personal vulnerability and spiritual struggle, resonated with readers across denominations. Nouwen openly explored themes of loneliness, identity, intimacy, and the human desire for love and belonging, making his voice especially relatable and influential.
Though he was a gifted academic and popular speaker, Nouwen found his deepest calling later in life through his involvement with L’Arche, a network of communities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After a transformative stay at the original L’Arche community in France, Nouwen accepted an invitation to become the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There he developed a close bond with Adam Arnett, a core member with severe disabilities, which inspired the book Adam: God’s Beloved. At Daybreak, Nouwen discovered a deep spiritual home and a community that helped him embrace his humanity in profound ways.
Throughout his life, Nouwen wrestled with issues of identity, including his sexuality and his longing for connection, though he remained faithful to his vows. His openness about depression and inner conflict gave depth to his pastoral message, and his ability to turn personal struggle into shared spiritual insight made him one of the most beloved spiritual writers of the 20th century.
Henri Nouwen died in 1996 of a sudden heart attack, but his legacy endures through his writings, the Henri Nouwen Society, and the continued global reach of his message of belovedness, vulnerability, and compassionate community. His books remain bestsellers, widely read in seminaries, churches, and among individuals seeking a more intimate walk with God.
Nouwen held teaching positions at prestigious institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He authored over three dozen books and hundreds of articles, with notable works such as The Wounded Healer, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Life of the Beloved, and The Inner Voice of Love. His writing, often rooted in personal vulnerability and spiritual struggle, resonated with readers across denominations. Nouwen openly explored themes of loneliness, identity, intimacy, and the human desire for love and belonging, making his voice especially relatable and influential.
Though he was a gifted academic and popular speaker, Nouwen found his deepest calling later in life through his involvement with L’Arche, a network of communities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After a transformative stay at the original L’Arche community in France, Nouwen accepted an invitation to become the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There he developed a close bond with Adam Arnett, a core member with severe disabilities, which inspired the book Adam: God’s Beloved. At Daybreak, Nouwen discovered a deep spiritual home and a community that helped him embrace his humanity in profound ways.
Throughout his life, Nouwen wrestled with issues of identity, including his sexuality and his longing for connection, though he remained faithful to his vows. His openness about depression and inner conflict gave depth to his pastoral message, and his ability to turn personal struggle into shared spiritual insight made him one of the most beloved spiritual writers of the 20th century.
Henri Nouwen died in 1996 of a sudden heart attack, but his legacy endures through his writings, the Henri Nouwen Society, and the continued global reach of his message of belovedness, vulnerability, and compassionate community. His books remain bestsellers, widely read in seminaries, churches, and among individuals seeking a more intimate walk with God.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 21, 2021
It’s fascinating account of this beloved authors experiences in the circus: as he flew, fell and was caught. It’s also a seriously good interweaving of many of his other writings, exploring the metaphor of how spiritually we all fly, fall and are caught.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
June 1, 2024
So glad I read this book about Henri Nouwen's friendship with a family of circus performers..acrobats..analogies he made about their performance and life make a lot of sense and would help our world if people lived them. A quick read that was easy to understand.
August 2, 2024
Carolyn Whitney-Brown has done a fine job writing a book that Henri did not have the chance to finish (or start). Collecting Nouwen’s notes, journals, interviews, and speeches, she crafted a compelling and moving work that he would be very proud of.
December 24, 2021
Henri Nouwen is well known for his spiritual writings and his practical and thoughtful commentary on what constitutes a spiritual life. Having left a life in academia to work with persons with disabilities, he strongly associates the life lived in community as his spiritual calling. During one of his breaks from L’Arche, Henri goes to see a circus and becomes entranced by the trapeze act, The Flying Rodkeighs. He follows the troupe and becomes great friends with its members as they take him into their “family”. Henri decides to write the story of the Rodleighs and takes copious notes about his relationship with the troupe.
However, he never completed the book. Now his friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown has completed his work interspersed into her account of his heart attack and being transported through a hotel window by the EMT’s assisting him.
An interesting insight into Henri’s personal life, his quest for meaning through community, and his fascination with this circus troupe whose performance encapsulated the flying, falling, catching that exemplifies the Christian life.
Recommended for fans of Nouwen.
However, he never completed the book. Now his friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown has completed his work interspersed into her account of his heart attack and being transported through a hotel window by the EMT’s assisting him.
An interesting insight into Henri’s personal life, his quest for meaning through community, and his fascination with this circus troupe whose performance encapsulated the flying, falling, catching that exemplifies the Christian life.
Recommended for fans of Nouwen.
November 3, 2021
It was only in the last five years of famed spiritual author Henri J.M. Nouwen established a friendship with The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus.
On the surface, it would seem to be a most unusual diversion for the serious and studied Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic Priest, theologian, author, and writer known for his approach to subjects such as social justice, psychology, pastoral ministry, and community.
My own introduction to Nouwen was during my own seminary years, his book "Adam" a required reading experience during one particular pastoral care course and a book that recounted Nouwen's experiences providing support for a young man during Nouwen's years living in Daybreak, a L' Arche Community.
For the record, I was not a fan of "Adam" (the book, not the person of course).
Yet, there was something about Nouwen that intrigued me and I began a years-long feeling of kinship with the richly human, amazingly vulnerable, yet stunningly intelligent author.
with "Flying, Falling, Catching," Nouwen and Carolyn Whitney-Brown have helped me understand why.
Nouwen, who passed away from a massive heart attack in 1996 at the age of 64, comes to life in a rather exhilarating way thanks to Whitney-Brown's ability to weave together a tapestry of Nouwen's own writings about his years-long, late life friendship with The Flying Rodleighs and a creative non-fiction approach to Nouwen's rather unusual rescue during his first heart attack that rather magnificently captures the kind of deep, soul-searching spirituality Nouwen was experiencing during these years and a soul-searching that was very likely satisfied through his almost child-like friendship with this small trapeze troupe that embraced him, his curiosity, his enthusiasm, and his friendship.
Whitney-Brown, a real-life friend and peer of Nouwen's, captures with honesty and simple beauty the wonder of Nouwen's journey whether writing about his engagement with his flying trapeze friends, his joining the march in Selma, his living amongst people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or his friendships formed with those impacted by the AIDS epidemic.
Whitney-Brown beautifully captures Nouwen as a joy-filled, almost child-like spiritual risk-taker who found a freedom in his later years as his carefully structured life increasingly became one of unpredictability, learning, vulnerability, and even failures.
It would seem as if nearly everything that bothered me about "Adam" is addressed in "Flying, Falling, Catching," a book that generously reveals Nouwen's own previously unpublished writings, mostly about the Flying Rodleighs, and helps us understand how these unique experiences were essential to Nouwen's later in life spiritual growth and personal healing.
I'm quite often not a fan of these types of posthumous collections, yet "Flying, Falling, Catching" feels like essential Nouwen and feels like a book that Nouwen himself would have wanted to publish yet, sadly, his life ended before he himself could find the words.
Quite simply, "Flying, Falling, Catching" is a lovely book in every way.
On the surface, it would seem to be a most unusual diversion for the serious and studied Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic Priest, theologian, author, and writer known for his approach to subjects such as social justice, psychology, pastoral ministry, and community.
My own introduction to Nouwen was during my own seminary years, his book "Adam" a required reading experience during one particular pastoral care course and a book that recounted Nouwen's experiences providing support for a young man during Nouwen's years living in Daybreak, a L' Arche Community.
For the record, I was not a fan of "Adam" (the book, not the person of course).
Yet, there was something about Nouwen that intrigued me and I began a years-long feeling of kinship with the richly human, amazingly vulnerable, yet stunningly intelligent author.
with "Flying, Falling, Catching," Nouwen and Carolyn Whitney-Brown have helped me understand why.
Nouwen, who passed away from a massive heart attack in 1996 at the age of 64, comes to life in a rather exhilarating way thanks to Whitney-Brown's ability to weave together a tapestry of Nouwen's own writings about his years-long, late life friendship with The Flying Rodleighs and a creative non-fiction approach to Nouwen's rather unusual rescue during his first heart attack that rather magnificently captures the kind of deep, soul-searching spirituality Nouwen was experiencing during these years and a soul-searching that was very likely satisfied through his almost child-like friendship with this small trapeze troupe that embraced him, his curiosity, his enthusiasm, and his friendship.
Whitney-Brown, a real-life friend and peer of Nouwen's, captures with honesty and simple beauty the wonder of Nouwen's journey whether writing about his engagement with his flying trapeze friends, his joining the march in Selma, his living amongst people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or his friendships formed with those impacted by the AIDS epidemic.
Whitney-Brown beautifully captures Nouwen as a joy-filled, almost child-like spiritual risk-taker who found a freedom in his later years as his carefully structured life increasingly became one of unpredictability, learning, vulnerability, and even failures.
It would seem as if nearly everything that bothered me about "Adam" is addressed in "Flying, Falling, Catching," a book that generously reveals Nouwen's own previously unpublished writings, mostly about the Flying Rodleighs, and helps us understand how these unique experiences were essential to Nouwen's later in life spiritual growth and personal healing.
I'm quite often not a fan of these types of posthumous collections, yet "Flying, Falling, Catching" feels like essential Nouwen and feels like a book that Nouwen himself would have wanted to publish yet, sadly, his life ended before he himself could find the words.
Quite simply, "Flying, Falling, Catching" is a lovely book in every way.
October 30, 2021
I was introduced to Henri Nouwen's writings in 2003 when I attended a conference on deepening my prayer life. I started collecting his works and read him voraciously. He had a lot to teach me and I was a sponge trying to absorb everything he taught. When this book showed up as a potential book for me to read and review, I jumped on it. I am so pleased that HarperOne chose me to read and review it through NetGalley.
While there are many spiritual truths put forth in this book, this is more of a spiritual memoir than a teaching book. Henri departed this life twenty-five years ago, but the legacy he left behind is one of graciousness, enthusiasm, energy, and depth. There is just no other way to put it. He was a deep man, with faults and foibles, but also a deep abiding love for the God he served.
Much of this book deals with the Flying Rodleighs trapeze artists with the Barum Circus in Europe. On a whim, Henri and his father attended the circus for something to do and that began the five year friendship Henri had with the Rodleighs. Henri got to see the behind-the-scenes life of these performers and even take part in sharing life with them. In turn, they gear him up to take a ride on a trapeze. The description of his joy in being on the swing was just priceless--something on the order of that if he didn't have ears, his smile would have met in the back of his head.
Carolyn Whitney-Brown dealt with some of Henri's struggles with dignity and compassion, and she put together the book that Henri wanted to write about the Rodleighs. Throughout the book, she describes his last days and the care that was taken by the emergency personnel when he had his initial heart attack. This is a poignant, funny, spiritually deep book that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end. I learned much, but most of all I learned to love the man himself for who he was. He lived his life as well as he felt he could. He took the time to learn from those around him, even when their communication skills are non-existent. He was always ready to share with those who needed something--a word of encouragement, a friend to stand beside them, or even a meal. He was an extraordinary, yet ordinary person, who lived his life as well as he could.
Five Stars
HarperOne and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
While there are many spiritual truths put forth in this book, this is more of a spiritual memoir than a teaching book. Henri departed this life twenty-five years ago, but the legacy he left behind is one of graciousness, enthusiasm, energy, and depth. There is just no other way to put it. He was a deep man, with faults and foibles, but also a deep abiding love for the God he served.
Much of this book deals with the Flying Rodleighs trapeze artists with the Barum Circus in Europe. On a whim, Henri and his father attended the circus for something to do and that began the five year friendship Henri had with the Rodleighs. Henri got to see the behind-the-scenes life of these performers and even take part in sharing life with them. In turn, they gear him up to take a ride on a trapeze. The description of his joy in being on the swing was just priceless--something on the order of that if he didn't have ears, his smile would have met in the back of his head.
Carolyn Whitney-Brown dealt with some of Henri's struggles with dignity and compassion, and she put together the book that Henri wanted to write about the Rodleighs. Throughout the book, she describes his last days and the care that was taken by the emergency personnel when he had his initial heart attack. This is a poignant, funny, spiritually deep book that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end. I learned much, but most of all I learned to love the man himself for who he was. He lived his life as well as he felt he could. He took the time to learn from those around him, even when their communication skills are non-existent. He was always ready to share with those who needed something--a word of encouragement, a friend to stand beside them, or even a meal. He was an extraordinary, yet ordinary person, who lived his life as well as he could.
Five Stars
HarperOne and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
September 14, 2022
I'm a big fan of Nouwen. Since being on Goodreads in 2007 I've read 9 of his books. This one is compiled from material left unused and unfinished at the end of his life. He had fallen for a trapeze troupe--The Flying Rodleighs--and wanted to write a book about what that meant to him, but he never managed to write the book. He couldn't figure out a new form that would convey its worth. (You can see their 9-minute act on Youtube.) They and their act were significant to him because they brought the physical body into Henri's experience of spirituality, and that was new for him. It came near the same time that he became part of the L'Arche Community of disabled people, and that also brought the body into his experience. Also, apparently Henri had only late in life begun to experience or admit longings as a gay man, which did not fit with his calling as a priest. So it is interesting that (his) body took on significance for him only late in life when it was itself increasingly a problem. The editor and co-author Carolyn Whitney-Brown did a decent job taking diverse unused material from Nouwen and molding it into a book. I was surprised to learn that Henri was close friends with Joan Kroc, heir to the McDonald's empire fortune. Apparently while being a sort of spiritual advisor to her he also got to experience the good life.
The one bit from the book that stuck with me was when Henri and a friend were reflecting on what Jesus would do in a situation, and Henri noted that we know what Jesus did as a man in his early 30s, but we have no idea what Jesus would do as a man in his 60s (which Henri was). That is a fascinating question--how would Jesus grow old?
The one bit from the book that stuck with me was when Henri and a friend were reflecting on what Jesus would do in a situation, and Henri noted that we know what Jesus did as a man in his early 30s, but we have no idea what Jesus would do as a man in his 60s (which Henri was). That is a fascinating question--how would Jesus grow old?
December 8, 2021
Flying, Falling, Catching
An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom
by Henri J. M. Nouwen; Carolyn Whitney-Brown
Pub Date 08 Mar 2022 |
HarperOne
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of Flying, Falling, Catching through HarperOne and Netgalley:
During the last five years of his best-selling author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction.
In Flying, Falling, Catching Nouwen’s friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents Nouwen’s unpublished writings, framed from , the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. In this book readers will learn that Nouwen’s was a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.
If you’re looking for a unique book at some of the previously unknown sides of Henri Nouwen let me recommend Flying, Falling, Catching, to be released in March.2022.
I give Flying, Falling, Catching five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom
by Henri J. M. Nouwen; Carolyn Whitney-Brown
Pub Date 08 Mar 2022 |
HarperOne
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of Flying, Falling, Catching through HarperOne and Netgalley:
During the last five years of his best-selling author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction.
In Flying, Falling, Catching Nouwen’s friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents Nouwen’s unpublished writings, framed from , the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. In this book readers will learn that Nouwen’s was a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.
If you’re looking for a unique book at some of the previously unknown sides of Henri Nouwen let me recommend Flying, Falling, Catching, to be released in March.2022.
I give Flying, Falling, Catching five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
August 21, 2023
A departure from his outstanding spiritual books, Nouwen, a Dutch priest, professor, theologian and psychologist becomes enchanted with a circus act he sees with his father and from there, he can't get them out of his mind. Over many years, he goes back to be with this troupe, travelling with them, learning their routines, getting to know them as individuals and even flying the trapeze with them. Henri sees a link between their "flying, falling, catching" and our relationship with God. Although Henri dies before he starts writing this book, a friend, Carolyn Whitney-Brown takes his extensive notes and conducts interviews to complete it. The writing is so enjoyable and Henri's adventures are delightful, giving us a true introspective look into his mind as he teases out the spirituality of his encounter with the Flying Rodleighs. It is so unfortunate Nouwen is no longer with us. His ability to see God in all events is breathtaking and solidifying. An excellent book.
February 19, 2023
As I read the epilogue of this book I started weeping. I wish Nouwen was still here. I think I’m just struck by the way he was so profoundly human. He was careless, oblivious, and at times selfish, but he was also compassionate and radically loving. I thought his friend Carolyn did a good job of painting the picture of his last five years on earth, especially in showing his raw passion for the Flying Rodleigh’s. I’m thankful for this book for giving a deeper look into his personal life, as I’m thankful for all his writing that has taught me to be kinder to myself as a Beloved child. Wow! If anyone wants to borrow my copy, let me know!
“Life is just an interruption of eternity, just a little opportunity for a few years to say, ‘I love you too.’”
“Life is just an interruption of eternity, just a little opportunity for a few years to say, ‘I love you too.’”
Read
May 8, 2024.
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Yesterday I saw the review of the Dutch translation from April 18, 2024 in Trouw.
https://www.jongbloedmedia.nl/product... dutch translation
After some searching I found the original English, with the prelistening and -view on the Publisher's bookpage.
https://www.harpercollins.com/product... English original.
As far as I read this day I'm convinced. This must be an extra ordinary book of a person who lived a very remarkeble live and found his connection with our common consciousness formed between the lines of some clerical dogma's. That doesnot always restrict you. I find it breathtaking.
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Yesterday I saw the review of the Dutch translation from April 18, 2024 in Trouw.
https://www.jongbloedmedia.nl/product... dutch translation
After some searching I found the original English, with the prelistening and -view on the Publisher's bookpage.
https://www.harpercollins.com/product... English original.
As far as I read this day I'm convinced. This must be an extra ordinary book of a person who lived a very remarkeble live and found his connection with our common consciousness formed between the lines of some clerical dogma's. That doesnot always restrict you. I find it breathtaking.
-
.
April 16, 2023
I just could not get into this book. I had thought that this was a book by Henri Nouwen. In actuality it is a book about him and his fascination with a troop of circus acrobats. The author presumes to know all his thoughts and motivations. That struck me as a bit presumptuous.
The story is fastened together with a narrative about Henri having a heart attack. The whole back and forth between the two topics feels forced and artificial.
I just did not get any larger picture from this book than one man's fascination with an troop of acrobats. There was nothing that I could connect to in my life.
The story is fastened together with a narrative about Henri having a heart attack. The whole back and forth between the two topics feels forced and artificial.
I just did not get any larger picture from this book than one man's fascination with an troop of acrobats. There was nothing that I could connect to in my life.
January 21, 2022
Whitney-Brown writes about Nouwen's experiences with a trapeze group he became friends with called The Flying Rodleighs. Nouwen reflects on the community of the trapeze group and how that community includes intimacy, trust, and freedom. I had never read anything by Nouwen or on trapeze groups and I love how Nouwen pursued friendships with the group and how they impacted his life. Thank you #NetGalley for the early read!
March 18, 2022
This is a book about Henri Nouwen's attempt to write a book about a trapeze troupe, and it works perfectly that way. Perhaps the story of Nouwen meeting, befriending and learning from the Rodleigh's is the one that was meant to be told all along. It's a beautiful look at his life, his final days, his struggles to articulate how trapeze affected his life, and (pardon the pun) the ups and downs of his journey to death. Highly recommended.
March 29, 2022
NetGalley ARC Review:
"Flying, Falling, Catching" is the final unwritten book by Henri Nouwen, narrated and interwoven by Carolyn Whitney-Brown. It is a fascinating tale of lessons learned on a trapeze. Some much is gained through Henri's story of meeting and befriending the Flying Rodleighs. Lessons on friendship, fear, support, but the over-arching lesson is 'Trust.' This book is a great addition to anyone's library.
"Flying, Falling, Catching" is the final unwritten book by Henri Nouwen, narrated and interwoven by Carolyn Whitney-Brown. It is a fascinating tale of lessons learned on a trapeze. Some much is gained through Henri's story of meeting and befriending the Flying Rodleighs. Lessons on friendship, fear, support, but the over-arching lesson is 'Trust.' This book is a great addition to anyone's library.
February 27, 2024
Intriguing and poignant, leading almost to the allegorical. The Dutch Jesuit Henri Nouwen becomes entranced with a circus troupe and makes connections between their in-air ballet and the spiritual connection and commitments between and among people. Alternates between transcriptions of Nouwen's notes (he wanted to write a magical non-fiction work but died) and the occurrence of him being "defenestrated" through a hotel window by first responders as he suffered a heart attack.
March 17, 2022
I love Henri and I think he would have been pleased with the deft job his friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown did organizing his material about the Flying Rodleighs (journal entries, notes, tapes, etc.) into a coherent narrative. What a great lesson these trapeze artists taught Henri...trust the catcher. In life, in death. Trust, trust trust.
September 11, 2023
This was a wonderful read. I had read several of Nouwen's books in the 1990's and enjoyed how they made me think. This book told me about the man as recalled by friends and the second author - Carolyn Whitney-Brown. I really liked the way she wound the story around his waiting for an ambulance at a hotel in Holland.
February 22, 2022
Highly readable and compelling, the author weaves together Nouwen's writings and her own narrative style into a thoughtful and engaging story that will resonate with anyone interested in the big questions about friendship, fear, and how we show up for each other.
June 15, 2022
The author does good work with the circus as a metaphor for that transcendent experience we crave. The book wanders and gets repetitive in some parts, but is a creatively structured and interesting read.
November 29, 2022
This book uses Nouwen’s writings and research to reflect on his relationship with The Flying Rodleighs trapeze troupe. Deeply introspective and engaging. I prefer Nouwen’s writings to the contributing editors narrative of his heart attack.
November 6, 2023
Good to discover that Henri Nouwen is a real person. Still felt I was waiting to hear his wisdom on his passion for the Rodleighs and the flying trapeze. That's mine to figure out, I guess. I appreciated whitney-Brown's efforts to tell the tale.
Read
November 28, 2023published after his death - this is a well crafted book weaving together Nouwen’s notes , interviews with the trapeze troop , the ambulance crew and in a very “Nouwen “ way share with us about flight, and the need to stay still so as to be caught .
Nouwen ‘s curiosity and eagerness to learn is inspirational . Lesson - be ready to make friends along the way - just as Nouwen befriends the circus trapeze team .
“.. the circus and the church “
both trying to lift up the human spirit and to help
people look beyond the boundaries of their daily lives “
Indeed a writing that speaks from eternity into time .
One downside, the writer seems to have need to repeat Nouwem's gender preference status a tad too often .
Nouwen ‘s curiosity and eagerness to learn is inspirational . Lesson - be ready to make friends along the way - just as Nouwen befriends the circus trapeze team .
“.. the circus and the church “
both trying to lift up the human spirit and to help
people look beyond the boundaries of their daily lives “
Indeed a writing that speaks from eternity into time .
One downside, the writer seems to have need to repeat Nouwem's gender preference status a tad too often .
July 8, 2023
This was not quite what I was expecting - I kept waiting for something to happen but it just meandered along and went nowhere.
August 3, 2023
A fun, wise, and deep adaptation of Nouwen's notes for his final book, creatively stitched into a fictional re-creation by Carolyn Whitney-Brown.
September 3, 2023
3.75 - Totally worth reading and contemplating the things that catch our attention, shimmer, speak to us.
April 24, 2024
Embodied spirituality 🤍 wisdom to live out here and now.
May 6, 2024
I love Nouwen, but this was a mixture of his writings published posthumously with writings by another author and I had a really hard time getting into it. The pace was slow, and I felt like it could have gotten the same point across if over half of it had been edited out. I did like the focus on a more wholistic, embodied spirituality. Part of the problem for me is that the trapeze artists he was so enamored with needed to be seen and experienced firsthand instead of trying to give a written description. I did also see the corresponding film in our spiritual direction cohort, but I was distracted by the way disabled folks were portrayed.
March 8, 2022
Unfinished at the time of Nouwen’s death in 1996, this book was creatively expanded upon by his friend, Carolyn Whitney-Brown. It bounces back and forth between scenes of Nouwen’s heart attack in Amsterdam in 1996 (written by Carolyn Whitney-Brown) and his friendship with the Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe (written by Nouwen). After seeing the troupe perform for the first time in 1991, Nouwen set about writing a book that would explore the parallels of trapeze that he saw in his own life and faith.
I enjoyed the comparisons Nouwen drew between trapeze and his faith, especially the idea that much like the “flyer” in trapeze has to trust the “catcher,” so we must trust our lives in the hands of God. There were many beautiful quotes from Nouwen, including: “[The circus is] a universal language that bridges many differences among people.” I also loved that he reflected on his time living in a home for the disabled!
The reason why I rated this so low is because I wasn't a huge fan of Whitney-Brown's creative license she took with what Nouwen could've been thinking and feeling while having his heart attack. Often times it felt like she was trying too hard to draw parallels, gleaning meaning that most likely wasn't there.
I recommend this book for Henri Nouwen fans, circus aficionados, or anyone on their journey to finding freedom in their own lives.
I enjoyed the comparisons Nouwen drew between trapeze and his faith, especially the idea that much like the “flyer” in trapeze has to trust the “catcher,” so we must trust our lives in the hands of God. There were many beautiful quotes from Nouwen, including: “[The circus is] a universal language that bridges many differences among people.” I also loved that he reflected on his time living in a home for the disabled!
The reason why I rated this so low is because I wasn't a huge fan of Whitney-Brown's creative license she took with what Nouwen could've been thinking and feeling while having his heart attack. Often times it felt like she was trying too hard to draw parallels, gleaning meaning that most likely wasn't there.
I recommend this book for Henri Nouwen fans, circus aficionados, or anyone on their journey to finding freedom in their own lives.
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March 31, 2023A deep beautiful description of our humanity
A beautiful and at times confronting description of our humanity in its fullness, the bright but also the more hidden vulnerable parts of the true incarnation of our faith: from head to heart to living God in our body and even sexuality. An open and vulnerable confession of the human struggles as only Henri Nouwen could write them or inspire others to do.
A beautiful and at times confronting description of our humanity in its fullness, the bright but also the more hidden vulnerable parts of the true incarnation of our faith: from head to heart to living God in our body and even sexuality. An open and vulnerable confession of the human struggles as only Henri Nouwen could write them or inspire others to do.
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