A New York Times bestseller!
A pioneering and timely study of how to navigate life's biggest
transitions with meaning, purpose, and skill
Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Secrets of
Happy Families and Council of Dads, has long explored the stories
that give our lives meaning. Galvanized by a personal crisis, he spent
the last few years crisscrossing the country, collecting hundreds of
life stories in all fifty states from Americans who'd been through major
life changes--from losing jobs to losing loved ones; from changing
careers to changing relationships; from getting sober to getting healthy
to simply looking for a fresh start. He then spent a year coding these
stories, identifying patterns and takeaways that can help all of us
survive and thrive in times of change.
What Feiler discovered was a world in which transitions are becoming
more plentiful and mastering the skills to manage them is more urgent
for all of us. The idea that we'll have one job, one relationship, one
source of happiness is hopelessly outdated. We all feel unnerved by this
upheaval. We're concerned that our lives are not what we expected, that
we've veered off course, living life out of order. But we're not alone.
Life Is in the Transitions introduces the fresh, illuminating vision
of the nonlinear life, in which each of us faces dozens of disruptors.
One in ten of those becomes what Feiler calls a lifequake, a massive
change that leads to a life transition. The average length of these
transitions is five years. The upshot: We all spend half our lives in
this unsettled state. You or someone you know is going through one now.
The most exciting thing Feiler identified is a powerful new tool kit for
navigating these pivotal times. Drawing on his extraordinary trove of
insights, he lays out specific strategies each of us can use to
reimagine and rebuild our lives, often stronger than before.
From a master storyteller with an essential message, Life Is in the
Transitions can move readers of any age to think deeply about times of
change and how to transform them into periods of creativity and growth.
