According to Chirban, each of us already possesses the intrinsic gifts necessary to live a fulfilling life-we just need to uncover them and find our True Selves. "Authenticity" is a buzzword in pop psychology, but Chirban isn’t a typical pop psychologist: a clinical instructor at the Cambridge Health Alliance at Harvard Medical School, he has both a Th.D. and a Ph.D. and an abiding interest in linking medicine, psychology and religion. He offers a three-part process for achieving what he calls a "true coming of age," in which we "find fulfillment and understand our purpose." While this book offers questionnaires and tests to help readers achieve this goal, Chirban’s is a deep process of coming to know your True Self; "opening your heart" and developing authentic relationships with other people; and "embracing your soul," and developing your spiritual side. For readers willing to engage in difficult internal and spiritual work, Chirban offers a supportive and useful guide.
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Dr. John Chirban has helped countless people learn what it takes to create a genuine life through periods of both hardship and success--to live more openly, honestly, and fully. Now, in his groundbreaking book True Coming of Age, he shows you how to experience the depth of authentic living as a pathway to experiencing True Coming of Age--a unique emotional and spiritual evolution that will change your life forever.
In this provocative and engaging book, Dr. Chirban shares exclusive personal insights from notable Americans including Tom Hanks, Maya Angelou, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ron Howard, and Tom Brokaw. More than individual stories of struggle, achievement, and success, these profiles tap personal concerns that we all share in our quest for both authenticity and meaningful connections.
In this journey toward self-knowledge and fulfillment, you'll also discover the four-step process that opens the door to a meaningful life:
- Knowing Your True Self--As you look honestly at yourself, you will rediscover your innate gifts--spontaneity, reasoning, creativity, free will, spirituality, discernment, and love.
- Opening Your Heart--In beginning to build fulfilling connections, you will allow your True Self to express who you are to yourself and others.
- Embracing Your Soul--When you feel abandoned or isolated, discover how to bring commitment, focus, and discipline back to your life with the enduring connection that comes from the Spirit.
- Integrating Your Life--In bringing together your True Self, open heart, and fully embraced soul, you will be able to foster healthy, intimate connections.
As you explore the personal stories and learn to explore and master the four-step process, you'll begin to understand your authentic nature and engage your innate giftsigniting your unique evolution and experiencing True Coming of Age.
Learn to Embrace What Life Holds for You
True Coming of Age features exclusive personal insights from:
- Maya Angelou
- Lucille Ball
- Billy Bean
- Tom Brokaw
- Shirley Chisholm
- Eileen Collins
- Bette Davis
- Tom Hanks
- Ron Howard
- C. Everett Koop
- Keith Lockhart
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Mary Lou Retton
- Diane Sawyer
- B.F. Skinner
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos
"One of the most difficult things to accomplish is to explain authenticity to someone who has neither the experience nor the inclination to take control of his or her life. Dr. Chirban has found a way. He has talked with truly remarkable people who live their authenticities and serve as models of greatness in this regard. We can deny our authenticity, distort, or as exemplified, grow into the creative selves we were destined to become. This book is an inspiration to those who realize they do, indeed, have their own authenticity."
--Dr. Phil McGraw, #1 Bestselling author of The Ultimate Weight Solution, Self Matters, Relationship Rescue, and Life Strategies
"True Coming of Age is a unique and most eloquent statement which helps each of us understand the meaning of spiritual maturity and gain a keener sense of our own responsibility . . . Dr. Chirban affirms Universal Truth, Goodness, and Love--which we each possess and must live--and which unites us all."
--Archbishop Iakovos, Former Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America
"True Coming of Age is a masterful and compassionate book of essential guidance for our contemporary spiritual culture. Inspired and passionate about the search for meaning, author John T. Chirban, Ph.D., Th.D., has drawn from years of clinical research as well as heart opening personal experiences to write this text which reads like a porthole into the soul."
--Caroline Myss, author of Sacred Contracts and Anatomy of the Spirit
"John Chirban's wise and beautiful book . . . goes far beyond the engaging interviews with successful people that form its bones, to flesh out the real nature of success."
--Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Inner Peace for Busy People
