Anne Bogel from What Should I Read Next podcast talks about this book often. Finally, I picked it up and was overjoyed by the writing. Parker Palmer shares essays with his reflections on the vocational journey. His vulnerability and the examples from his life, combined with quotes from Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, and more make this a powerful read. It’s rich, so at times I had to reread the same passages few times to grasp Palmer’s meaning. I’m certain I now know why Anne Bogel rereads it, and I will too. 

Values, vocation, and inner work are all important topics to me so reading this felt like a conversation with the author. Understanding limits, listening, and learning from experiences and wise community is the path for humans to be, to contribute, and to live content. Reading this book helps us to process that we are “led to truth by our weaknesses as well as our strengths.”

“From the beginning, our lives lay down clues to selfhood and vocation, though the clues may be hard to decode. But trying to interpret them is profoundly worthwhile – especially when we are in our twenties or thirties or forties, feeling profoundly lost, having wandered, or been dragged, far away from our birthright gifts.”