Ladder to the Light, Steven Charleston
Ladder to the Light, Steven Charleston
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Ladder to the Light
An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage

Author: Steven Charleston

Narrator: Jason Grasl

Unabridged: 3 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/23/2024

Synopsis

They were as troubled as we, our ancestors, those who came before us, and all for the very same reasons: fear of illness, a broken heart, fights in the family, the threat of another war. Corrupt politicians walked their stage, and natural disasters appeared without warning. And yet they came through, carrying us within them, through the grief and struggle, through the personal pain and the public chaos, finding their way with love and faith, not giving in to despair but walking upright until their last step was taken. My culture does not honor the ancestors as a quaint spirituality of the past but as a living source of strength for the present. They did it and so will we.

In the same voice that has comforted and challenged countless readers through his daily social media posts, Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest Steven Charleston offers words of hard-won hope, rooted in daily conversations with the Spirit. Every day Charleston spends time in prayer. Every day he writes down what he hears from the Spirit. In Ladder to the Light he shares what he has heard with the rest of us and adds thoughtful reflection to help guide us to the light.

Native America knows something about cultivating resilience and resisting darkness. For all who yearn for hope, this is a book of comfort, truth, and challenge in a time of anguish and fear.

About Steven Charleston

Steven Charleston is a leading voice of justice for Indigenous peoples, the environment, and spiritual renewal. A member of the Choctaw Nation, Charleston has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, BBC World News, and other outlets. The author of more than a dozen books on theology and spirituality, including Ladder to the Light, Charleston has served as the Episcopal bishop of Alaska, president and dean of the Episcopal Divinity School, and professor of systematic theology at Luther Seminary. He serves as the theologian in residence at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University. Charleston lives with his wife, Susan, in Oklahoma.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Donald P. Fleischmann on September 28, 2021

I started reading this book on my kindle and was highlighting sections I want to remember, reread and share. I soon realized that I should just start at the beginning and highlight the whole book! I am reading slowly because there is so much to think about and pray about. Steven Charleston uses plai......more

Goodreads review by Alex on May 05, 2023

I was in a reading group for this at my church last year. I didn't read it, but I bought it, because I want to support progressive Christian writers. I finally read it and it wasn't for me, maybe because I'm too young to appreciate just a series of wise sayings. Everyone else in my group was over 50......more

Goodreads review by Gerald on November 22, 2023

A somewhat slow-paced but amiable inspirational text on facing and triumphing over the negativity (darkness, in Charleston's framework) that is flourishing in public life today. It's based on Native American wisdom literature.......more

Goodreads review by Dave on February 23, 2024

I never really accepted a guru in my life, though I visited or met with a few including the Maharishi. Steven Charleston, Choctaw elder/Episcopal bishop, could become one for me. Here he is on a Ladder to the Light, writing from the first rung, on the Rung of Faith, (25) “One of our most important s......more

Goodreads review by Liz on February 19, 2022

I share this paragraph with you and tell you that there are many more passages of hope worthy of sharing: "SING COMFORT: Sing on, choir of faith, and let your voices resound through the world. Sing on, songs of a sacred promise, songs of an enduring love, songs of eternal mercy. Let those anthems fil......more

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