Wisdom Chaser: Finding My Father at 14,000 Feet

In this deeply engaging, conspicuously unpolished chronicle of a decade of mountaineering adventures with his father, the son of a famous father explores not only the physical terrain of the Colorado Rockies but also the emotional and spiritual terrain of their evolving relationship as the two test themselves. An assistant professor of social work at Michigan's Spring Arbor University, the writer is the son of Richard Foster, a luminary among contemporary writers on Christian spirituality. “The little I knew about my father I didn't much like,” he writes near the book's beginning. An unsparing and even sometimes awkward narrative of the writer's deepening self-knowledge as he confronts the wounds of his childhood, the book also describes his deepening friendship with his father as they experience climbing success, failure, and some pretty terrifying close calls in unforgiving mountain passes. This gem of a book should appeal not only to Richard Foster fans but to a much wider pool of readers who will be grateful for its insights, humility, and tenderness. (Apr.)