Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Kindle Edition
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life : How to Finally, Really Grow Up
 
 
Start reading Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life : How to Finally, Really Grow Up [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

James Hollis (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such. See details.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Hardcover, Bargain Price, May 5, 2005 --  
Paperback, Bargain Price --  
Mass Market Paperback $14.98  

Book Description

May 5, 2005
What does it really mean to be a grown up in today’s world? We assume that once we “get it together” with the right job, marry the right person, have children, and buy a home, all is settled and well. But adulthood presents varying levels of growth, and is rarely the respite of stability we expected. Turbulent emotional shifts can take place anywhere between the age of thirty-five and seventy when we question the choices we’ve made, realize our limitations, and feel stuck— commonly known as the “midlife crisis.” Jungian psycho-analyst James Hollis believes it is only in the second half of life that we can truly come to know who we are and thus create a life that has meaning. In Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life, Hollis explores the ways we can grow and evolve to fully become ourselves when the traditional roles of adulthood aren’t quite working for us, revealing a new way of uncovering and embracing our authentic selves. Offering wisdom to anyone facing a career that no longer seems fulfilling, a long-term relationship that has shifted, or family transitions that raise issues of aging and mortality, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life provides a reassuring message and a crucial bridge across this critical passage of adult development. BACKCOVER: “…offers insight into the process of finding true meaning later in life… challenging… earnest.”
The Houston Chronicle

“Nourishing… Like a master chef, James Hollis knows that good food for the soul cannot be ordered to go.”
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

“…a deep Jungian exploration of individuation…humane and compassionate…[Hollis’] focus on the underlying meaning of life will resonate for many…”
Publishers Weekly

“Everyone seems to be obsessing about the monetary cost of the graying of the American population, but there’s very little talk of the soul. James Hollis, one of the foremost Jungian analytical psychologists in the world, has plenty to say about the soul in Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life…erudite and cultured but also accessible.”
The Portland Tribune

“How to find your way out of the woods (figuratively)…what’s at stake is what Hollis calls the biggest project of midlife: reclaiming one’s personal authority…”
More magazine

"Midlife is a time when people can lose their way and flounder. Jungian analyst James Hollis knows this terrain, describes it well and asks the important questions that can lead to clarity, maturity, and meaning"
—Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of Goddesses in Everywoman and Gods in Everyman

"The Search for Meaning in the Second Half of Life contains the writing of a gentle and insightful soul who does not bog down in analytical dryness, but speaks to and teaches from the heart. A combination of genuine vision and genuine humanity is a rare and valuable gift, and readers will find both in this work."
—Clarissa Pinkola Estés, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves

“James Hollis is the most lucid thinker I know about the complexities and complexes that interfere with living a full life. His broad background in literature, philosophy, and Jungian psychology is everywhere present in this important book, which, as it strips away illusions, posits the soul-work that's necessary for the difficult task of making our lives meaningful. He's one of our great teachers and healers.”
—Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet

“James Hollis’s new book is a work of soul-making. It brings solace and wisdom to those of us who finds ourselves in a dark wood, in the second half of life.”
—Edward Hirsch, author of How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Special Offers and Product Promotions



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The midlife crisis is familiar enough, but as in previous works, Hollis (The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning at Midlife), brings a Jungian perspective to it that goes deeper than the idea of finding mere self-fulfillment. That feeling that you've been living the wrong life, that you're lost and confused, is "an insurgency of the soul," he says poetically, which "overthrows the conscious conduct of our lives." This mental suffering presents an opportunity to embark on a journey transcending expectations foisted on us by others, such as parents, and to find true self-knowledge. Hollis offers not a simple how-to on facing this crisis, but rather a deep Jungian exploration of individuation, the process of becoming the person one was meant to be. Sprinkling his discussion with references to prose, drama, poetry and popular culture as well as examples from patient histories, Hollis recommends working toward a mature spirituality by being true to personal experience and embracing the mystery of life. This spirituality is a reconnection to the voice of the soul, dramatized by images that appear to us in dreams. Hollis is humane and compassionate regarding the human condition, and his focus on the underlying meaning of life will resonate for many, though they may not respond to his somewhat mystical, god-laden language. (May 1) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“How to find your way out of the woods (figuratively)…what’s at stake is what Hollis calls the biggest project of midlife: reclaiming one’s personal authority…”
More magazine

"Midlife is a time when people can lose their way and flounder. Jungian analyst James Hollis knows this terrain, describes it well and asks the important questions that can lead to clarity, maturity, and meaning"
—Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of Goddesses in Everywoman and Gods in Everyman
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Gotham Books (May 5, 2005)
  • ISBN-10: 1592401201
  • ASIN: B000GUJHJY
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,682,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Hollis has a private analytic practice and is the executive director of the Jung Educational Center.

 

Customer Reviews

54 Reviews
5 star:
 (36)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Forget Dr. Phil - Here's the Real Deal!!, May 3, 2005
By 
Ava (Texas, United States) - See all my reviews
James Hollis is far and away the most brilliant psychologist of our time. His latest contribution to a series of books I cannot live without is as exceptional as the rest. In an intelligent and thought-provoking manner, Hollis encourages the reader to examine what lies under the emptiness at mid-life despite having attained all of society's achievements such as marriage, career and financial success. He challenges us to discover what forces and fears formed us, and how our lives have been shaped as a result. His words lead you towards finding meaning and also a personal spiritual connection for your life. This is no "Step One: Do This" and "Step Two: Do That" formula that is all too common in self help literature. Instead, Hollis takes you to the place where you can actually understand why you do what you do, why your intimate relationships fail, why your work lacks meaning, and why you feel disconnected from the world around you. He teaches you how your responses to normal anxiety have taken you further and further away from understanding your life by avoiding the things that discomfort you. He gives you the courage to put aside your frenzied existence, and confront the wounds carried since childhood. I feel blessed to live in Houston where Hollis heads the C.G. Jung Educational Center and routinely teaches. It is rare to have access to such great wisdom. This book and the many others by Hollis, most especially The Eden Project, provide readers an opportunity to access the knowledge and experience of the world's leading expert on Jungian psychology. My life has been completely changed by learning from Hollis.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, compassionate, insightful and wise, December 6, 2005
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This is a terrific book, really a synthesis of many undercurrents of psychological wisdom explored in contemporary terms. I savored it over several weeks, reading a few pages a day, so that I could fully absorb and reflect on James Hollis's insights. Both penetrating and accessible, the book also provided a common vocabulary to talk over the real issues with a friend going through a hard time. ("This book is me," was how he expressed his feelings of relief and validation.)
James Hollis writes with clarity and compassion about profound and complex dilemmas, in a deeply engaging way that reflects his personal and professional experience. The best thing about FINDING MEANING IN THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE is that rather than providing easy answers it asks the right questions, so that one is inspired to further evolve toward her own truth. I also recommend James Hollis's other books for their soulful exploration of meaning that can be pragmatically and creatively absorbed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars So Helpful and Provocative!, August 6, 2005
By 
I've read a ton of books about psychology and the inner life. The vast majority are so simplistic as to be mind-numbing. Hollis is, I think, the best psychologist writing today, and this latest (I recommned ALL of his previous books) is an empassioned guide towards getting real with yourself. The best "self-help" book I have ever read. I think it should be required reading for everyone when they turn 40.

Rock on, James!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
HAVE YOU NOT HAD THE FEELING, amid the evening rush hour drive, or while sitting on the beach, or at 3 A.M., the hour of the wolf, that you have no idea who you are, or what this busy business is about? Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
intrapsychic depression, mature spirituality, unlived life
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
James Hollis, Collision of Selves, New Age, Psychological Reflections, Soren Kierkegaard
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:



Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category