Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage
Darkness will not last forever. Together we can climb toward the light.
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 and steeped in Indigenous wisdom. 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, Ladder to the Light is a book of comfort, truth, and challenge in a time of anguish and fear.
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"Readers will appreciate Charleston's pride in Native traditions and his optimism that humanity can heal the scars of the past and rebuild what has been broken." --Publishers Weekly
"Here is wisdom born out of a lifetime of listening faithfully to the voice of God. Here is wisdom we need for the living of these days." --Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and author of The Power of Love
"This book touched me as few do, which I take as proof that the author is in cahoots with the Spirit. Charleston is a spiritual medic who has given himself to a life of healing, and you will want to share his medicine with everyone you know." --Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Learning to Walk in the Dark and other books
"Ladder to the Light isn't a book to be read once and put aside, but one that should be read again and again, becoming part of our human journey. I highly recommend this book for all who are searching for a better way of belonging." --Kaitlin B. Curtice, author of Native and Glory Happening
"What an anchoring book--the wisdom in it is distilled through many traditions, and is available to us all!" --Bill McKibben, environmental activist and author of Falter and other books
"Defying conventional notions of religion, Steven Charleston places our feet on a trail of faith, blessing and hope leading us to truth and transformation. Through Native traditions and culture, we see a new vision of today's society--a tribal community of human beings moving toward justice as we search for the sacred." --Thom White Wolf Fassett (Seneca), author of Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival
