A key book we recommended to Anna Chaplains when they gathered for our annual get-together last month was George Lings' just-published Living in the Autumn of Life' (BRF, 2024).
There are many endorsements for it from readers such as Lucy Moore, founder of Messy Church, John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford, and Paul Bayes, former Bishop of Liverpool.
I added my own compliments to George Lings, says Debbie Thrower - founder of Anna Chaplaincy - for writing such a helpful book, especially relevant to Anna Chaplains helping people navigate their lives post-retirement. On the inside pages, I say:
'It is tempting to underline so many passages of this book. I want to take its messages to heart. Drawing on an impressively wide range of authors, Lings has blended his own personal observations of living the autumn of life with those of carefully-questioned interviewees.
I valued his insights, especially, when it comes to living with regret, describing a significant early childhood bereavement as ‘one of the negative cards I am likely to have to hold.’
It is an approach encapsulated in his invitation: ‘So, tread with me some sort of middle ground to hold these two themes – glory and loss – in tension with one another.’
Debbie adds:
'This book proves itself a sage companion for the times when we feel most alone in this liberating yet liminal season of life.'
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