This is the book to loan of give those who want to get informed on Wilber and integral, but come to the world from their hearts and an emotional perspective, rather than intellectually. Start here and then try One Taste.
This is one of the most impactful books I've read. I moved through so many spaces on the ride called Grace and Grit… and it was during the time I was reading this book that I actually began to get the universality of suffering in a deeply visceral way. Just thinking of the book I get moved. I don't know how it's possible for anyone to read the entire book and not be permanently altered for the better. And as if that weren't enough, it's a great intro for non-scholars into Ken Wilber's writing….from here I'd go to ONE TASTE and then you're ready for the rest of it :)
Ken Wilber is one of the most widely read and influential American philosophers of our time, having published over 30 books which have been translated into over twenty foreign languages, and is well known to many Zaadzsters. Ken Wilber is clearly a brilliant philosopher, but maybe even more remarkable is his strength and vulnerability as a man.
Grace and Grit is the remarkable account of the life and death Ken shared with his late wife Treya Killam Wilber. Grace and Grit is not only filled with Ken's raw and honest perspective as Treya's caretaker, and his brilliant philosophical theories, but this book is propelled by Treya's personal and intimate journal entries written throughout her 5 year battle with cancer.
Ken writes in the introduction to the second edition, “As I write this, it has been ten year's since Treya's death. I am immeasurable more, and immeasurably less, because of her presence. Immeasurable more, for having known her; immeasurably less, for having lost her. But then, perhaps every event in life is like that; filling you up and emptying you out, all at the same time. It is just that, it is oh-so-rare that such a one as Treya is with us, and thus the joy, and the pain, are all so intensely amplified. There are as many Treya's as there are those who knew her. What follows is my Treya…”
This may very well be the best book I have ever read. Not only was I introduced to Ken's work and integral theory, which alone are completely life changing, but I also was intimately connected with Treya's personality, her struggles, and her spiritual seeking. After reading just the first page, as I picked up this book again to review it, the tears were welling up in my eyes. Do not let the emotional capacity of this book deter you, as I almost did. This is a story of hope and courage we can all relate to as we daily face our own deaths and rebirths. You will undoubtedly be immeasurably more from following their remarkable journey.
This book is beautiful. It tells the story of Wilber's first wife, Trey Killam, who was diagnosed with cancer just after they married. The story is told both by Ken and by Treya, and it was positively mind-blowing for me.
Incidentally, I've found that women (or should I say, the feminine types) usually like this book better than any of the other books by Wilber, and it does introduce his work a little bit as well.
I still remember the night that I finished this incredible book. It stirred up so many emotions that I'll never forget. The tears flowed down my face, I smiled, I was alive, it hurt but it was just so beautiful. A must read!!!!!