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A review by inthecommonhours
Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age by Bruce Feiler
I’m glad I got this from the library, otherwise I would have read the first two chapters and then have planned to read the rest *someday*—instead, thanks to a deadline, I read it but kept hoping for more takeaways. I liked the personal story of his own father’s struggle and how telling his story was a lifeline. Beyond that the main takeaways from the hundreds of interviews Feller did were: people go through LOTS of transitions and often later in life than they expected. I didn’t see any specific guidelines or conclusions on how to better navigate them. He talks about the three stages: the long goodbye, the messy middle and the new beginning. Does that sound obvious to anyone else?
Shauna Niequist recommended this on two different podcasts, which is why I read it. I’m so curious what struck her as novel or helpful. There were, again, 100s of anecdotes from interviews and many were amazing but we learn a bit of their story and then ever hear of them again. I know this is the trend in books about behavioral theory, and Feller credits Solomon’s Far from the Tree, but I’m just not a fan. I much prefer the deeper dive into just a handful of people’s stories, as in Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
If you read this and get more from it, please comment because I do feel like I am missing something. I feel like everything the book offers can be found in the William James quote that the title references:
“Life is in the transitions. We can’t ignore these central times of life; we can’t wish or will them away. We have to accept them, name them, mark them, share them, and eventually convert them into fuel for remaking our life stories.”
Shauna Niequist recommended this on two different podcasts, which is why I read it. I’m so curious what struck her as novel or helpful. There were, again, 100s of anecdotes from interviews and many were amazing but we learn a bit of their story and then ever hear of them again. I know this is the trend in books about behavioral theory, and Feller credits Solomon’s Far from the Tree, but I’m just not a fan. I much prefer the deeper dive into just a handful of people’s stories, as in Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
If you read this and get more from it, please comment because I do feel like I am missing something. I feel like everything the book offers can be found in the William James quote that the title references:
“Life is in the transitions. We can’t ignore these central times of life; we can’t wish or will them away. We have to accept them, name them, mark them, share them, and eventually convert them into fuel for remaking our life stories.”