Becoming Wise

An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

By: Krista Tippett

Narrated by: Krista Tippett

“I’ve come to understand the cumulative dialogue of my work as a kind of cartography of wisdom about our emerging world. This book is a map in words to important territory we all are on now together.”

Over the 13 years that Krista Tippett has hosted her award-winning and nationally beloved radio program and podcast, first under the title Speaking of Faith and now as On Being, the heart of her work has been to shine a light on the most extraordinary voices on the great questions of meaning for our time, people whose insights kindle in us a sense of wonder and courage. Scientists in a variety of fields; theologians from an array of faiths; poets, activists, and many others have all opened themselves up to Tippett's compassionate but searching conversation.

In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind, into what it means to be human. The book is a master class in living, individually and collectively, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of a teaching faculty. Wisdom emerges through the raw materials of the everyday.

The open questions and challenges of our time are intimate and civilizational all at once - definitions of when life begins and when death happens, of the meaning of community and family and identity, of our relationships to technology and through technology. The enduring question of what it means to be human has now become inextricable from the question of who we are to each other, Tippett says. And this book is much more than a call to personal growth. It is a grounded and ultimately hopeful vision of human spiritual evolution. It insists on the possibility of a common life for this century marked by resilience and redemption, with beauty as a core moral value and civility and love as muscular practice. Krista Tippett's great gift, in her work and in Becoming Wise, is to avoid reductive simplifications but still find the golden threads that weave people and ideas together into a shimmering braid.

One powerful common denominator of the lessons imparted to Tippett is the gift of presence, of the exhilaration of engagement with life for its own sake, not as a means to an end. Called enlightenment, called transcendence, often called nothing because it is beyond language, it is a state whose gifts can be described in many ways - nourishing, edifying, redemptive - as can its celebrants: courageous, tender, adventurous, curious. But presence does not mean passivity or acceptance of the status quo. Indeed Tippett's teachers are people whose work meets, and often drives, some of the most powerful forces of change alive in the world today. In the end, perhaps the greatest blessing conveyed by the lessons of spiritual genius Tippett harvests in Becoming Wise is the strength to meet the world where it really is, and then to make it even better.

©2016 Krista Tippett (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"IIf you measure the worth of a book by the volume of scribbles you pen in the margins, the stars emphatically drawn, and the sentences underlined, Krista Tippett’s Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living - a compendium of wisdom, at once intimate and expansive - stands a serious shot of emerging both splattered and cherished. Tippett, the Peabody Award-winning radio host and National Humanities Medalist, is a master of what she terms ‘generous listening,’ an act ‘powered by curiosity,’ and a ‘willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity." (Chicago Tribune)

“Most of us can only dream of the dinner parties Krista Tippett could put together. We're lucky, then, that her new book is the next best thing to an invitation to sit down, make ourselves at home and prepare for a mind-expanding exploration of what it means to be human... Not light reading, but inspiring reading, for those willing to pull up a chair.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

“This is not just a selection of greatest hits. Instead, rooted in Tippett's own keen insight, she provides an interlocking frame based on five themes: words, the body, love, faith, and hope. With dips into Tippett's childhood and early career, readers are embraced by her own struggle, vulnerability, and thirst for meaning. As researcher and TED-talk phenom Brené Brown told Tippett, ‘Hope is a function of struggle.’ Tippett's striving here is the grist for creative genius.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

Timely for a people at the brink of despair

Krista highlights 'points of light' in a world that can do easily be consumed by darkness. by the end, I think that she being wise might just be synonymous with being fully human. I found my self stopping every ten minutes to take notes, not down a quote, or just chew on a thought.

Now I have to go buy the book for reference end sharing however I highly recommend listening. Kriste is a master of the spoken word. Additionally, this amazing Audible production includes many actual interviews from her I'm Being' radio show. What a a great bonus!

Moral Hope

so many people as evidence of moral hope. excellent from start to finish. a book maybe better read then listen to dude to the amount of content else so intriguing and thought provoking

A flowing river of insight that I will enjoy diving into over an d over again!

Graceful and eloquent as always, Krista opens the world to us with topics such as love, hope , religious beliefs and science in a way that makes life solar to resemble Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium! I will be frequenting it’s pages often.

Excellent!

I listen to Krista Tippett and Onbeing regularly, and this was just like a "best of" for me. I enjoyed every moment and then I ordered the actual book because there are so many gems here I want to go back and read and write in the margins. Highly recommend!

Wake up to a warm embrace

Krista Tippett’s reflections on the human experience evoke reverence and grace. Her interviews in this audio book are perfect for this moment. From grief, to nature, to religion and depression, she provides insights that are worthy of many listens.

Inspirational

Renew your hope and faith in mankind. I feel grateful to have found this book. I am glad to be part of the world today. I will listen to this again because there are so many wonderful stories and lives that touched me.

Love this book

I love Krista, her manner of speaking, the questions she thinks to ask and the depth of the answers she elicits. I'm humbled. I'm grateful to be a part of a world she so generously frames. This human to you, enjoy the experience.

Shimmering and wonderful

Just as she references the power of shimmering words throughout this book, Krista has compiled a wonderful collection of interviews that take us out of dark places and into the light of community, love, hope, perseverance, and action. I think I will start it again right now.

Wonderful!

I love Krista Tippet. What a joy it was to get to listen to her thoughts and hear her interviews for an extended period of time with this book. I listen while commuting and it was the first time I audibly objected when the book was over. I look forward to listening again and in the meantime, continuing to enjoy her amazing podcast.

You would be wise to listen/read this book.

Narration and interviews are compelling. The book is a meditation and examination on many aspects of wisdom.