It is for anyone with a desire to be useful to those who will inherit an endangered and often dangerous world. It is for those who have an instinct and a desire to be an ancestor worthy of being claimed. It is for those wishing to learn something of the skills of grace in a graceless time, of mentorship and fierce and exemplary compassion. It is for elders in training, offered by two extraordinary — and wildly different — practitioners.

What do these two have in common? A refusal to settle for anything less than truth. A knack for looking past the fog or smog of easy answers. Both are seekers of truth in this world of uncertainty and shadows. They bring awe and wonder, and a dedication to being true, and responsible for our world. Together and separately, they will reckon with the confounding historical moment we find ourselves in, asking you to consider what it will take to live a life that is “unguarded, sober, and alive.”

Together they wrote and published Reckoning (2022 . Click here to purchase audio book, paperback or hardcover of Reckoning.

“We are born in dangerous times. Consider it an affliction, or consider it an assignment.” — Stephen Jenkinson

“I have been a harbinger to speak about the unspeakable.” — Kimberly Ann Johnson

Listen to this podcast announcing their new book launch

More interviews posted here: https://orphanwisdom.com/interviews/

Author’s Remarks on Reckoning:

“You come by your prejudices more or less involuntarily. That means you inherit them. And generally speaking the world gives you plenty of reason to go with your prejudices and not wonder about them too much. That’s a very dark thing to consider: the world in its conditions is so encouraging of your prejudices that you could almost be forgiven for being unconscious about them. Almost. Heartbreak is how you humanize your prejudices.” ~ Stephen Jenkinson

“One of my particular heartbreaks is that the unconscious foundation of so much of my world view, even it criticisms, is rooted in individualism. Especially heartbreaking is the remarkable individualism of those around me who bang the drum of community. ” ~ Kimberly Ann Johnson

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Kimberly Johnson is an author, postpartum care activist, trauma educator, structural bodyworker and mother. A sought-after practitioner and lead authority in postpartum health, Johnson has been working hands-on in integrative women’s health and trauma recovery for more than a decade. She is the author of the recent Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power and Use it for Good as well as the early mothering classic, The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions and Restoring Your Vitality. She is the host of the Sex Birth Trauma podcast, where her collaboration with Stephen Jenkinson first took root, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vogue, New York Magazine’s The Cut, Harper’s Bazaar, Today.com and many more. https://kimberlyannjohnson.com/

Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW, is an author, culture activist, ceremonialist, father and farmer. He teaches internationally and is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School, founded in 2010. With Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work), he has worked extensively with dying people and their families, is a former programme director in a major Canadian hospital and former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school. He is the author of several books including the award-winning Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble, A Generation’s Worth: Spirit Work in a Time of Trouble, How It All Could Be and Money and the Soul’s Desires: A Meditation. Stephen is the subject of the National Film Board of Canada feature length film documentary, Griefwalker and Lost Nation Road is a glimpse behind-the-scenes of a soulful mystery train called Nights of Grief and Mystery. He continues to tour the world, with singer/ songwriter Gregory Hoskins, with their odes to wonder, love letters for the willingness to know endings. https://orphanwisdom.com/