Quick Take
- Narration: Richard Rohr narrates his own material, a significant asset, since his teaching presence is central to the work. His voice carries authority without rigidity, and the course format benefits from his direct address.
- Themes: Franciscan simplicity and the true self, non-dual consciousness, contemplation as action
- Mood: Quiet and searching, with the unhurried depth of a genuine teacher
- Verdict: A substantial and genuinely challenging course on Franciscan spirituality from one of its most accessible interpreters, most rewarding for listeners willing to engage slowly rather than consume quickly.
I came to Richard Rohr through a recommendation from a friend who is neither Catholic nor particularly religious but described Rohr’s work as the most useful thinking on the ego she had encountered anywhere. That is a particular kind of endorsement, and The Art of Letting Go, his six-session audio course on St. Francis of Assisi and the spirituality of simplification, largely justifies it. I listened to the first two sessions on a Sunday morning and found myself returning to them the following weekend, which is not a habit I develop often.
The course, and it is framed explicitly as a course, with stated objectives, uses the life and teachings of Francis as a lens for exploring what Rohr calls the true self and the false self. These terms have roots in both Christian mysticism and contemporary psychology, and Rohr moves between those registers fluently. For him, Francis is not a sentimental figure of animals and poverty but a radical thinker whose embrace of simplicity was a deliberate dismantling of the ego’s defenses, a model that secular and religious listeners alike can engage with.
Our Take on The Art of Letting Go
The course addresses non-dual thinking as the defining characteristic of mature spirituality, a concept Rohr develops through both the specific teachings of Jesus and the example of Francis. Non-dualism, the capacity to hold contradiction without forcing resolution into either/or categories, is one of those ideas that sounds abstract until it is illustrated, and Rohr is an exceptional illustrator. His examples are drawn from psychology, history, and personal experience, and he has the teacher’s rare gift of making difficult ideas feel not only accessible but obvious in retrospect.
The sessions on contemplative prayer are particularly well-designed for audio. Rohr structures them as instruction rather than performance, which means listeners can engage actively with the practices he describes rather than simply observing someone else do them. He is clear that contemplation is not a technique so much as an orientation, a way of approaching experience without the constant need to judge, categorize, or acquire. For a contemporary audience drowning in information and starved of quiet, this has obvious relevance.
Why Listen to The Art of Letting Go
The central asset of this particular audiobook is that Rohr narrates it himself. His voice carries the unhurried authority of someone who has thought about these things for decades and is not trying to sell you anything. This is a recurring observation among listeners, one reviewer described him as the premier spiritual teacher they had encountered, and that quality of earned confidence is available in the audio in a way that a third-party narrator would not provide. You are not listening to a representation of Rohr’s teaching; you are listening to Rohr teaching.
Listeners from traditions other than Christianity will find the course more accessible than the explicit Franciscan framing might suggest. One reviewer who identified as Buddhist noted that the course teaches lessons that people of all faiths need to practice. Rohr is conscious of this crossover potential and addresses it directly, drawing connections between Franciscan simplicity and contemplative traditions in other lineages.
What to Watch For in The Art of Letting Go
This is a course, not a narrative, and it rewards the kind of attention you would bring to a seminar rather than a novel. Passive listening during commutes or exercise may not yield the full benefit. Rohr assumes listeners are willing to pause, reflect, and return. The six-session structure supports this, each session has a coherent focus, and there are natural stopping points that invite reflection.
One reviewer noted significant quality issues with the physical disc version of the original release. The audiobook version does not carry this problem, but it is worth noting that some older reviews reflect disc-era technical complaints rather than assessment of the content itself. The digital audio is clean and clear.
Who Should Listen to The Art of Letting Go
Anyone navigating loss, transition, or the kind of exhaustion that comes from holding too tight to things that cannot be held will find Rohr’s material directly useful. Listeners with a contemplative practice, whether explicitly religious or not, will find sophisticated support for that practice. Those who want a narrative or who prefer a traditional book format may find the course structure less immediately satisfying, but the content is substantial enough to reward the adjustment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to be Catholic or Christian to benefit from The Art of Letting Go?
No, and Rohr himself addresses this directly. The Franciscan framework is the starting point, but the concepts of true self, false self, non-dual consciousness, and contemplative prayer have parallels in multiple traditions. Multiple reviewers without Christian backgrounds have found the course genuinely useful.
Is this an audiobook or a lecture course, and does the format work well in audio?
It is structured as a six-session learning course with explicit objectives. The format works extremely well in audio precisely because Rohr narrates it himself, you are hearing his teaching voice, not a narrated text. Each session has a distinct focus and can be engaged individually or sequentially.
How does Richard Rohr’s self-narration affect the listening experience?
It is a significant asset. Rohr’s teaching presence, unhurried, warm, and authoritative, is central to the course’s effect. A third-party narrator would have delivered the words; Rohr delivers the meaning behind them. For anyone who has encountered his live talks or other audio recordings, this is very much in that register.
Is this suitable for someone experiencing grief or major life transition?
Yes, and Rohr’s teaching on letting go is directly applicable to loss. One reviewer described listening to it after losing multiple family members and finding it helped realign their approach to grief. The course does not offer easy comfort, but it offers something more useful: a framework for understanding why holding on costs us so much.
