Taking a Long Road Home

“Life must be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards.” —Søren Kierkegaard Hello friends, Freudians sometimes refer to the interactions of parents and children as the family romance, surely an ironic term given the…

Aging as a Spiritual Journey

Aging as a Spiritual Journey was my first major foray into the challenges and promise of growing older. The book offered an approach that brought together social, psychological, religious and literary dimensions of aging. I attempted to examine…

Elder wisdom

Hello friends. Two decades after starting work on Elder Wisdom, I wondered about its relevance for today. Discounting some author prejudice, I think it holds up pretty well. One reason is that the ideas and experiences expressed by the hundred…

Centerstage Buddhas

Hello friends, my poetry often includes animals. They are nature's true teachers and I am fortunate to learn from them every day here on the banks of the Oconee. My two "cat familiars" Max and Tony continue to be the centerstage Buddhas in my…

An excerpt from “Taking a Long Road Home”

Here is a brief passage from my 2011 memoir "Taking a Long Road Home." Let it be an introduction to my lengthy writing career -- two novels, five books on aging and elderhood, assorted volumes on religion, ethics, and contemporary society, a…