In 2015, four months after the birth of their first child, Phil Elverum's wife, Canadian cartoonist and musician Geneviève Castrée, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It comes at the end of a meandering path through uncertainty, devotion, sad reminiscence, hopeful idealism; songs coursing over uneven terrain.

[18] Patrick Clarke of NME stated that "Elverum shares a complicated and conflicted headspace with masterful simplicity, conveying a mood that sways from calmness to anxiety, from warm nostalgia to stinging regret.

"[19] Heather Phares of Allmusic stated that "its songs have stretched out a bit to encompass more grief and more hope.

"[15] Matthew Neale of Consequence of Sound found that "In spite of those fleeting moments of discord, Lost Wisdom Pt.

2 is an extraordinarily rewarding listen" with particular praise to the track "Widows" stating that "“Widows” is superb, the only moment on the record when cymbals crash and guitars churn, a reminder that the Mount Eerie project is still capable of producing moments of exhilaration with the most basic building blocks" although did admit that its presence on the album was jarring.

[25] Harry Todd of Paste noted how the album "harkens back to his earlier work", he also said that it "feels like a quiet revelation... which finds Elverum reckoning with a reinvigorated loneliness.

"[22] Daniel Bromfield of Spectrum Culture called the album "a portrait of a mind in flux" and that "it’s a treat to hear Elverum up to his old hijinks again.

Drifting in and out of spectral harmonizing on each of the album's eight tracks, Doiron's simmering soprano always adds impactful texture while still knowing when to let Elverum sing alone".

[20] Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork shared similar feelings writing that "Doiron’s presence is a welcome balm, warming these cold realizations and offering Elverum a steadying hand for some of the most difficult moments."