Customer Reviews

Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life : How to Finally, Really Grow Up

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

In these times of extensive power-posturing, blame and fear-mongering from our leaders, it is a relief to have this voice of genuine strength and courage gently working its way into our psyche and society. This voice is James Hollis, Ph.D and he blazes the path toward giving meaning to the second half of our lives.

We can learn how to forgive the unavoidable mistake called "the first half of our life" and go confidently forward into the second, with our compassionate guide, James Hollis.

With his writings, he serves as the scout that we need to enter this uncharted territory within ourselves. We need not be scared to enter these depths. We can do this effectively if we read and heed the words of this sage.

I credit Hollis and his book "Eden Project, in Search of the Magical Other" for saving my marriage. I would recommend this book to anyone in a relationship. Hollis will guide you in an eloquent way through relationships and where we tend to go wrong in them. I look around me, at all the dissatisfied couples and think, they could save a lot of misery and money if instead of getting new partners, sports cars and face lifts, they just bought a copy of the Eden Project. It is not light reading, it is not band-aid psychology, but it is well worth the effort.

Now Dr. Hollis will guide us through the second half of life with this book. This is the stuff of real strength, written by a real hero. He has lead us to the promised land that is within.

This book is very interesting and very thought provoking. The author clearly recognizes a problem which faces all of us in the second half of life and often earlier and offers the challenge of a solution. My problems with the book are (1) it is hard to read often because of what I perceive as the author's default to academic writing and not writing which is geared to a general audience not used to such complex concepts professionally expressed. Expressing the ideas the author wants to communicate in layman's terms would have been more effective in communicating the content; (2) more concrete examples of the concepts of projection, complexes, etc. would also have made me as a reader more comfortable with what I thought I understood from the book. Other authors I believe have been able to express Jung's concepts in ways more easily understood by those of us who are not philosophers or psychologists. Despite these concerns, I highly recommend the book because Dr. Hollis discusses an issue all of us knows exists even if we deny it and frequently his prose is engaging.

This is not a book that will give you sequential bits of advice on how to change your life but will instead offer insights which will encourage internal changes through the increased knowledge of our own personal and human condition.

Neither is it a book, at least for me, to be read at one sitting. But it is a pleasure to read in small bits and then ponder what was just read.

I gave a copy to an alcholic friend of mine, who is also looking for some deeper understandings in life, and he said it was the most important book he'd read since he quit drinking over 20 years ago. It is not a 'how to' book, but if you approach it with some patience and curiousity you will be immensely rewarded.

I have read this book once and plan to reread it after taking time to think through what I have learned. The book causes one to stop and think about so much of who and what they are.

As a recent retiree who is on a journey of self-discovery and renewed spirituality this book "hit the spot".

I had a strong feeling of resonating on the same frequency as the author. Any book that has a 16 page introduction to make sure the reader is properly positioned for what is in the book is a good sign. As avertised, no quick fixes are available in this book. Only deep understanding and breakthroughs can come from hard work and that is what the author requires of his readers.

Thanks to AARP for an article that referenced this book.

I found this book a godsend at this stage in my life. It truly provided me with insight on what I needed to do to make effective changes in my life and most importantly not be ashamed of those changes. I wish this book had been available when I was 40!!

I have not quite finished this book yet and who could blame me? It is so packed with information and motivation to change our lives. I saw the message coming for a "wake up call" in the first pages, but at this point I have a fire under my tail to really create a new life.

Understand please, that I am significantly satisfied with my life to this point and cherish my children, marriage and ego based life. But, hey, I know when I am leaving value on the sidelines and this book reminds me that the Soul's calling is greater than my ego centric life.

Here I go on the second half journey toward a conscious life and I will give you all an update when I have finished the book.

Thanks Dr. Hollis for this inspiration.

I'm 54 (in the second half of life) and I generally do not read "self-help", spiritually inclined books. I picked up Hollis' work at the beloved Powell's in PDX months ago and have just finished it, reading a bit here and there over time, jotting some notes in a journal as I went. Wonderfully insightful and helpful for me it was as I yearn for more solid second-half-of-life meaning beyond career and societal niche. I loved his kind, literary writing voice and the sense that Hollis has helped himself and many others find their ways to deeper truths.