Archive
The Story Behind Flying, Falling Catching by Henri Nouwen
In late May I received a short note from the co-author of a book we had mentioned briefly here, Flying, Falling, Catching: An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom (HarperOne, 2022) by the late Henri Nouwen and Carolyn Whitney-Brown. Both Carolyn and I thought that the story behind the book deserved greater attention, and months later, she sent what follows, which at this point, we have exclusively.
Carolyn lives on Vancouver Island, and the book is set in North Toronto. As she says, “It’s a very Canadian story.”
You can learn more about her writing at this link.
by Carolyn Whitney-Brown
I first met Henri Nouwen at L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill in 1989 when he drove me with my husband Geoff to a local pizza place for lunch. He was a terrifyingly inattentive driver. But we had a terrific conversation that day. Geoff and I were completing our PhDs in English literature, so like Henri, we were coming from academic backgrounds looking for ways to live the gospel more concretely in a diverse community.
As Gord, a longtime L’Arche member with Down syndrome, would encourage us, “Open your heart.” We lived with Henri and Gord and many others at Daybreak until 1997, learning to think and love and laugh and pray in new ways. Those were transformative years.
Carolyn Whitney-Brown with Henri Nouwen
Henri first saw the Flying Rodleighs trapeze troupe perform in 1991, and it hit him like a thunderbolt. He described a physical response that left him shaken, excited, in tears – a response of his body, not in words. Over the next five years, he got to know the trapeze troupe and they became close friends. His times with them were relaxing, inspiring and full of fun. He talked about them constantly.
I knew from conversations with Henri at the time that he wanted to write differently; something that would read like fiction or even a novel. He wanted his circus book to be different than any of his previous books, based not on ideas or insights, but offering a story that would draw readers into an experience and invite them to draw their own significances and connnections.
But he died suddenly in 1996, and the fragments that he left behind sat in his literary archives for decades.
In 2017, because I was a writer who knew Henri well, I was invited by the publishing committee of Henri’s literary estate to have a look at his trapeze writings and see if anything inspired me.
Immediately, I was hooked by two mysteries. First, why did his encounter with the Flying Rodleighs strike him so powerfully at that moment of his life? And second, why he did he not finish his book about them?
I started to read widely in the archives, trying to figure out what else was going on in his life and spirit in those years, what had prepared him to see, as he put it, “the angels of God appearing to me in the form of five trapeze artists.”
I couldn’t write the book that Henri would have written, but in Flying, Falling, Catching, I honour his desire to write a creative book that would be as engaging as a novel. I juxtapose his writings about his friendship with the Flying Rodleighs trapeze troupe alongside other significant moments in his life. Those experiences in Henri’s own words are framed by the true story of his first heart attack and his rescue out the window of a hotel in the Netherlands in 1996.
The book is in two voices, Henri’s and mine, with two typefaces so that readers know which writings are Henri’s and which are mine.
I had a lot of fun writing it.
After completing the book, I keep thinking about pedestals. It’s easy to put Henri on a pedestal: he was wise and brave even when he was demanding and anguished. He’s often called a spiritual master. But that elevates him to a unique and lonely place, and being admired like that was not a healthy place for Henri. The trapeze act involves a different image of a pedestal, as somewhere to launch from. You’d look silly staying on a pedestal. It’s a platform to allow you to take a risk. And trapeze performers are rarely on a pedestal alone: no one can do a trapeze act by themselves.
Henri Nouwen with The Flying Rodleighs
Photo: Ron P. van den Bosch
You can actually see some hilarious film footage of Henri on the trapeze pedestal on the online recordings of two book launch events, one with commentary by Rodleigh Stevens himself, and the other with L’Arche Daybreak. In that one, I tell viewers to notice that real friends will not only accompany you on a pedestal, but they will throw you off at the right moment! You can find links to both book launch events at:
https://www.writersunion.ca/member/carolyn-whitney-brown
It struck me recently that I am now the age that Henri was when he was so entranced by the Flying Rodleighs, and interestingly, so is Rodleigh himself, since he and I are close in age. At our age, Henri let his imagination be seized by a whole new adventure. He said,
“On a deeper level, [my friendship with the Flying Rodleighs] has given me a sense my life is just beginning. I don’t know where it’s going but I’m only sixty-two so I may have another thirty years. The Rodleighs are saying to me indirectly, don’t be afraid to fly a little, don’t be afraid to take a few doubles or triples or a few layouts. If you really miss the catcher you fall into the net so what’s the big issue! After all, take a risk and trust, trust, trust.”
Henri cared passionately about building communities that honour differences, that work for justice, that seek God’s vision of peace on earth and goodwill to all. As you finish reading Flying, Falling, Catching, be open to the spiritual challenge: What seizes YOUR imagination? What excites you? What life of fun and creative energy does God imagine for each of us, not just alone, but in our communities?
Flying Falling Catching is hardcover; 272 pages; ISBN 9780063113527 and also sold in the UK through SPCK.
Catherine Hudson: A Prophet’s Journal
There have been at least ten occasions in the life of our bookstore where one of customers has become one of our authors. Catherine Hudson knows what it’s like to experience the hand of God moving in her life and ministry. There’s never been a time she hasn’t walked into my store beaming a God-moment she can’t wait to share. I remember telling her not too long ago that she needs to write a book. I did not realize one was already in progress!
Publisher marketing from Guardian Books an imprint of Essence Publishing:
A Prophet’s Journal will take you on a journey to learn how to hear from God and know it is God speaking. Hearing from God will prepare your heart for what is coming. Seldom are we invited into someone’s personal journal… their thoughts, feelings, weaknesses and challenges. What about their prayer life, burdens, hurts, and even miracles? Have you ever heard someone describe their visions? Or tell you the specific words they have heard God speak to them?
A Prophet’s Journal is a unique book unlike any you have probably encountered before. It will leave you with questions, perhaps a longing to know Him better. This book is like a buffet table for your spirit, the opportunity for an experience, as you grow in your knowledge of the nature of God and His ways. If you have ever wondered what God is really like, or who Jesus is, read this book. If you have been a follower of Jesus but struggle with knowing Him more intimately, A Prophet’s Journal will help you. Perhaps you have been searching for a spiritual reality and haven’t found what you’ve been looking for? This is your opportunity…
Excerpt from the book –
“As the horrible device fell off, I saw the person open his eyes. You could see confusion and fear on his face. It was like he didn’t know where he was or how he got there. I watched as he looked around; a flush of colour started to come back to his face. I could see him trying to squint and see through the gloom of this terrible place. Once his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he suddenly stood up straight and tall, like a man with purpose.”
Catherine Hudson has been walking with the Lord since she was twenty-six and is the mother of three grown children and grandmother of thirteen. She is a dog trainer and owns My Bark Avenue Academy. She lives in eastern Ontario, Canada with her two dogs. In 2019 she became the children’s director of the Community Children and Youth Outreach.
More information at Essence Bookstore.
Autobiography: Ray Barnett, Founder of the African Children’s Choir
Publisher supplied feature
About the book:
As a young boy struggling to find his way through the immense poverty, secrecy and war-time suffering that gripped his life in Northern Ireland, Ray Barnett dreamed of a life of adventure and travel like that of his hero: famed missionary-explorer David Livingstone.
As an adult, he has lived that life—leading a human-rights based ministry that has brought hope, healing and humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.
In his riveting autobiography, Don’t Tell Me It Can’t Be Done, Barnett takes readers on a roller-coaster journey through his childhood in the rough, working-class neighborhood of Killowen—a childhood marked by loss, abuse, learning disabilities, rejection, and the crushing discovery that the family who raised him was not his own.
The turning point happens for Barnett when he devotes his life to God as a teen. Driven by his faith, Barnett pursues a career as a human rights minister and sets out to accomplish what seems like the impossible—from securing the release of Hezbollah-held hostages and imprisoned Christians in the former Soviet Union and Africa, to launching the world-renowned African Children’s Choir. Along the way, he also manages to unravel the life-long mystery surrounding his identity.
Barnett, who has committed his life to fostering hope and healing for those in need—regardless of faith, skin color, lifestyle choices or political views—hopes his story will inspire others to do the same.
“My story is a testament of the miracles that can transpire when we put our faith in God and take action—believing if we do everything that’s in our power to do, God will take care of the rest,” notes Barnett.
“There’s so much suffering and need in the world today, and it’s up to each of us to make it happen—one step, one shovelful, one person at a time.”
About the Author
Ray Barnett, a Northern Ireland-born minister who immigrated to Canada in the late 1950s, has devoted his life to helping suffering and persecuted people around the world.
He is the founder of Friends in the West, a Christian based human rights organization that has helped secure the release of numerous Christians imprisoned for their faith, and has spearheaded humanitarian aid missions in volatile regions across the globe.
He is also the founder of the African Children’s Choir, a world-renowned organization that has provided an education, healing and hope to thousands of African children, including nearly 1,200 who have gone through the African Children’s Choir program. With “Daddy Ray” as their advocate, these children have been cared for as one of his own, receiving the love, support and education they need to succeed and give back to Africa and the world.
Ray has received numerous honors and recognitions for his work including the prestigious “Cross of Nails” award issued by the Coventry Cathedral in England as well as the “Heart of Gold” award bestowed by Esther Ranson at BBC. In early 2019, he was crowned Maasai Elder in Kenya in honor of his contributions to Maasai children. His lifelong work has also been spotlighted in Daddy Ray, a documentary produced by acclaimed BBC producer Desmond Wilcox.
Don’t Tell Me It Can’t Be Done will be released November 1, 2019 in both hardcover and paperback. Dealers can pre-order through Ingram. (Consumers reading this may also pre-order at RayBarnett.com. )
9781999489014 • 300 pages Hardcover • 26.95 US
9781999489007 • 300 pages Paperback • 15.95 US
To see more of Ray Barnett’s story, watch this 22-minute video.
Author’s Personal Story Confronts Loss, Grief and Depression
Prince Edward County, Ontario’s Andrea Calvert has just released Not Alone: How God Helped Me Battle Depression through Word Alive Press. She’s also the daughter-in-law of some close friends who shared some of her story with me. I’ve been following her on Twitter and also just became aware of her blog, Inspiring Life Chats, where she’s been writing for nearly a year.
The 118-page paperback is just the right size for those who find themselves in the aftermath of a traumatic loss that is causing stress and depression. Priced at only 11.99 CDN it’s also affordable to give away to someone in the middle of such a situation.
Publisher Info:
Angry and hurt, Andrea didn’t want to have anything to do with God. How could she when, one day shy of her eighteenth birthday, she had to watch her mother being wheeled into the operating room of Toronto General Hospital to receive a liver transplant? How could a God that “loved” His people allow them to suffer so badly? Why did she have to spend so much time in and out of hospitals, watching the strongest woman she knew endure test after test? Watching this happen, Andrea came to the conclusion that no god would do that.
Then, on April 27, 2011, it was time to say goodbye. After ten long months of waiting for a second organ donation, Andrea’s mother made the decision to let go-it was the hardest thing Andrea had ever dealt with up to that point. The loss of her mother led her into a downward spiral of depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Andrea lost years of her life and still battles to this day with keeping her depression under control.
Jesus reached down and opened Andrea’s eyes at the darkest point of her depression. Searching for a way to deal with her pain, she called out to Jesus, who answered her prayers and called her back into His loving arms. What He has done in her life is nothing short of amazing-Jesus gave her purpose again!
This is her story…
ISBN 9781486616107 | 11.99 US / 11.99 CDN | Anchor Distributors and Spring Arbor (US), Word Alive (Canada)
Peter Hitchens Counters His Brother’s Atheism
Here’s the video for the book trailer for Peter Hitchens’ book (the brother of atheist Christopher Hitchens) The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me To Faith (Zondervan).
Publisher Marketing:
Peter Hitchens, brother of prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, chronicles his journey through disbelief to a committed Christian faith. With unflinching openness and intellectual honesty, Hitchens describes why he burned his Bible and embraced atheism. As a journalist in Soviet Moscow, critical observations left him with more questions than answers, and more despair than hope. With first-hand insight into the blurring of the line between politics and the Church, Hitchens reveals the reasons why an honest assessment of Atheism cannot sustain disbelief in God.
Christian Book Shop Talk 