Pagan, Shinto & Spiritual Book Reviews March 2016

The Gospel of Falling Down: The Beauty of Failure, in an Age of Success, Mark Townsend

As a working professional adult, I certainly experience the pressure to succeed all the time and the feeling of failure probably generates more anxiety for me than almost anything else. I therefore really liked the idea of a book that tries to examine failure from a positive, spiritual perspective, so I thought I’d give The Gospel of Falling Down: The Beauty of Failure, in an Age of Success a go.

Some readers may already be familiar with Mark Townsend as a Christo-Pagan writer (he’s one of the contributors of Paganism 101 reviewed below). Be warned though: The Gospel of Falling Down has no Pagan content at all, focussing primarily on Townsend’s Christian views (albeit eclectic, non-Orthodox Christianity). A self-help book, The Gospel of Falling Down looks at the meaning of “failure” from a Christian perspective, while challenging society’s obsession with perfection and success.

The Gospel of Falling Down is an extremely personal book. Townsend writes straight from the depths of his heart; he’s experienced the pain of failure and is brave enough to share his ordeals with us, including his battles with alcoholism. These private insights even include conversations that he has had with “God,” or rather what Townsend interprets as his “spiritual” self. I get the feeling that writing this book has all been part of the healing process for Townsend himself. That in itself will no doubt help readers who can identify with Townsend’s experiences.

The personal nature of the text is reflected in the writing style, which is informal, impassioned and at times a little rambling, which isn’t always the easiest for the reader. I thought that the book’s strength really lies in its inclusion of short stories, exercises and even magic tricks that convey messages about the nature of failure and why it’s important not to give up. My favourite part was a little story by Mike Riddell, about a man who goes in search of the meaning of life. I’d never heard this story before and genuinely found the message inspiring – so much so that I read it out to my husband who happened to be sitting beside me while I was reading.

While the message of The Gospel of Falling Down is a comforting and hopeful one, I suspect that many Pagan readers used to Mark Townsend’s more syncretic Christo-Pagan approach will be put off by the heavy Christian emphasis and language, lacking any Pagan perspective. But readers who are happy with that, particularly those who are suffering from feelings of failure or despair, may find this book helpful to them as part of their recovery.