• Write what fall means for you.
• Write about your most outstanding day at school.
• Write about your most memorable teacher.
• Write about what you want to let go of this fall.

The Fifth Season by Mark Nepo

Whenever Nepo releases a new book, I make sure to put it on my reading list immediately. So many of his sentiments resonate with me. As a poet and deep thinker, he always makes me delve deeper into my thought processes. Reading his words is like coming home. This book especially resonates with me because he’s a writer in his seventies. I too entered my seventh decade last year and I also ponder my own mortality. He poses questions that I often ask, such as, what does it mean to age, and what is old? I love his perspective as he embraces his own age and the gifts aging has to offer, such as the wisdoms learned over the course of a lifetime.

Nepo identifies this period of his life as a time of integration and transformation for making sense of experiences. I love that he has included suggestions for writing or discussion at the end of each chapter. He poses many poignant questions.

It’s a profound book that leaves a lot of room for reflection and contemplation, and as he deftly states, “The longer we live, the greater the surfacing of our soul.” Further, like me, he believes in the importance of creativity. “Just like we need oxygen to breathe, we need the creative flow to keep our heart alive. This is especially important as we age. To live a creative life sustains our inner health,” he says.