The Way Home: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife

Meditation teacher Katt aims in his spirited debut to help middle-aged readers “grappling with anxiety” and “lost in loneliness” recover their purpose. In his 30s, the author found himself burnt out in his work as an entrepreneur and a pastor and checked out of a stagnant marriage, when he realized that “pursuing perfection, and constantly seeking the approval of others” had left him emotionally depleted. Newly aware that “if you don’t have your heart, you have nothing”—a mantra that came to him on a run—Katt embarked on a quest loosely modeled after the one outlined in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey (both quests begin with “answering the call,” though Katt’s includes a “wander in the wild” stage). Weaving in his own candid misadventures and references to scripture and myth, Katt urges readers to take up such ritual practices as yoga, breathwork, and meditation, and attune themselves to subtle “signs” from the universe (the author’s daughter’s suggestion for a tattoo spurred him to “say Yes to the call to get my heart back,” for instance). Katt’s self-awareness is endearing, but it’s the sheer ordinariness of his story that readers will find most comforting: from biblical figures to movie heroes, the “universal way home to wholeness” is an arduous but eminently human trek, Katt concludes. This inspires. Agent: Don Pape, Pape Commons. (Feb.)