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.”