I love writing books, so as my 50th birthday approached and I felt the worst was behind me, I was inspired to write a book titled "Flatline on the Faultline: My Life Between 45-50." This book was a special project for my birthday celebration at Burning Man, intended as a gift for everyone attending this significant milestone in my life. I aimed to distill the complexities and excesses of my life into a concise narrative, transforming it into a meaningful memento for my friends. 

The overwhelming response was, "This is a captivating read about redemption—you need to share this with more people." However, due to its deeply personal and gut-wrenching nature and lack of consent from various individuals mentioned in the narrative (many of whom were also navigating their own midlife challenges), I decided to limit the book's circulation to just a few copies, shared privately with friends who were similarly experiencing midlife crises.

Who knew, years later, that I would be creating the world's first "midlife wisdom school," a place where we help mid-lifers sort through their life lessons as the raw material for their future wisdom? A few copies of this slim, dark book sit in the MEA library in Baja and soon will grace the libraries in both of our Santa Fe Ranch retreat centers when we open in the spring. I've continued to hold this book close to my chest (and not publish it), but I heartily recommend that people give this a one-hour read as it's a very personal story about navigating midlife transitions. 

Here's a two-minute video of me in the MEA Baja library, where I show you the book’s cover and why this book is so meaningful to me—and, thankfully, to many others as well. 

‍For those of you who've been to MEA Baja, did you have a chance to read the book? If so, what did you learn from it?

-Chip