Flying, Falling, Catching : An Unlikely Story of Finding Freedom

“Flying, Falling, Catching is a beacon of hope. It reminds us that despite all the perils and sufferings that surround us, with which we often collide, we can find healing, peace, and awe even in the most unusual detours that life offers. A must read.” — Marina Nemat, Author of international best-seller Prisoner of Tehran

"In Carolyn Whitney-Brown's deft hands, Henri’s intentions literally, vividly swing alive. This is a beautiful, moving story about interconnectivity, interdependence, and life's rich, beautiful, complicated pageant. I devoured it in a sitting.” — Lisa Napoli, Author of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie

Henri Nouwen’s real-life spiritual memoir of his surprising friendship with a traveling trapeze troupe.

What will we do with our lives, and with whom will we do it? In this story of flying and catching, Nouwen invites us all to let go and fly, even when we are afraid of falling.

During the last five years of his life, best-selling spiritual author Henri J. M. Nouwen became close to The Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze troupe in a traveling circus. Like Nouwen’s own life, a trapeze act is full of artistry, exhilarating successes, crushing failures, vulnerability and trust, and continual forgiveness. He wrote about his experience in a genre new to him: creative non-fiction. 

In Flying, Falling, Catching, Nouwen's colleague and friend Carolyn Whitney-Brown presents his unpublished trapeze writings framed by the true story of his rescue through a hotel window by paramedics during his first heart attack. Readers will meet Nouwen as a spiritual risk taker who was transformed through his engagement with these trapeze artists, as well as his participation in the Civil Rights movement, his life in the L’Arche community with people with intellectual disabilities, his personal growth through friendships during the 1990s AIDS pandemic, and other unexpected encounters.

In what would be his final years, Nouwen found that the artistry of the trapeze held a mirror to the spiritual life.

• Creative Non-Fiction: Explore Henri Nouwen’s unpublished trapeze writings, framed by the dramatic true story of his rescue from a hotel window during a heart attack.
• Finding Faith in Unexpected Places: Discover how a world-renowned spiritual author found profound lessons on letting go not in a monastery, but under the canvas of a traveling circus tent.
• Friendship and Community: Witness the surprising bond between a celibate priest and The Flying Rodleighs, a relationship that transformed his understanding of connection and belonging.
• A Spiritual Risk-Taker: See a new side of Nouwen, connecting his experiences with trapeze artists to his life in the Civil Rights movement and his profound friendships during the AIDS pandemic.

Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932–1996) was the author of The Return of the Prodigal Son and many other bestsellers. He taught at Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame universities before becoming the pastor of L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, Canada, a community where people with and without intellectual disabilities assist each other and create a home together.

Carolyn Whitney-Brown is a Canadian writer, artist, and university teacher who earned a PhD in English literature. She knew Henri Nouwen well when she and her family lived in the L’Arche Daybreak community from 1990 until Henri’s death in 1996. She lives on Vancouver Island.