Wrestling with Adulthood
Unitarian Universalist Men Talk About Growing Up
Edited by Ken Beldon
My friend’s words were exactly what I needed. They were simple and direct and reached way down inside me to soothe me where I felt the worst: "Remember, we’re both only thirty-three, and a good deal of the important stuff that’s going to happen to us in this life hasn’t happened yet." His words were a saving grace, a reminder that what seemed to be a life sentence might one day be lifted. Eventually I’d be okay.
My friend’s consolation came in response to an email I had just sent to three of my closest friends. I had told them that my marriage, not yet five years old, was coming to an end.
—From "Younger Than That Now" by Ken Beldon
Editor Ken Beldon brings together eleven men to share their stories of becoming adults. What unites them is a shared commitment to justice, love, compassion and the kind of self-understanding it takes to make yourself a better person. They reveal the challenges they faced and explore the choices they made, with honest writing about their relationships with parents, children, partners and spouses and their personal searches for a calling, faith, maturity and character.
Contributors: Ken Beldon, James Coomes, Erik Kesting, Joseph Santos-Lyons, Anthony David, Kent Matthies, Forrest Gilmore, Greg Pelley, Nathan Ryan, Scott Gerard Prinster and Manish K. Mishra.
Ken Beldon is the lead minister of WellSprings, a new Unitarian Universalist congregation outside of Philadelphia. He holds degrees from Oberlin College, Yale Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Teresa Nazario, a news producer at CBS 3 Philadelphia.
Praise for Wrestling with Adulthood
"Ken Beldon and the fine crew he has assembled here prove
beyond the shadow of a doubt that liberating our inner adult beats the daylights
out of coddling our inner child."
—Forrest Church, author, So Help Me God, and minister of public
theology, Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City
"As a seasoned
veteran of thirty-five years in the men's movement in our Unitarian Universalist ranks, I
was heartened by the gutsy and transformative stories of my younger brothers
captured in this splendid volume. We're all blessed to be turning over the globe
to these maturing men and their supportive sisters."
—Tom Owen-Towle, author of Brother-Spirit and Save the Males
"What makes this collection so valuable? Most of all, it’s
the honesty. These are not the puff-chested boasts of macho men, nor the whining
of the defeated. They are, rather, a well-kneaded blend of troubles and
triumphs, directly from men who have experienced both."
—Neil Chethik, author, VoiceMale
For more information contact skinnerhouse @ uua.org.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors. Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Wednesday, June 2, 2010.
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