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Title: The Way of Transition: Embracing Life's Most Difficult Moments by William Bridges ISBN: 0-7382-0529-X Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: 04 December, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (12 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Me me me me me
Comment: This man really likes to share his own personal experiences, thinking that they serve to unravel one's own difficult moments. With some writers, that's okay, but with Bridges, I almost hear him saying "enough about me, what about you - what do you think of me so far?"
I read about fifteen pages, said to myself "well, that's nice" and then casually chucked this one in the bin.
Rating: 4
Summary: Rolling with the Changes
Comment: In the wide-ranging realm of self-help books, "The Way of Transition" is something of a cross between "Passages" and "Tuesdays with Morrie." Like "Passages," it describes in simple, easily understood terms the stages one goes through when dealing with an important life transition. Like "Tuesdays," it draws on a painful yet inspirational encounter with fatal illness - in this case, that of the author's wife.
Those attempting to deal with big transitions in their lives are likely to find this book comforting and helpful. I did. But don't pick it up if you're looking for easy answers, clever techniques, or lists of things to do to turn your life around. As the author himself puts it, the "way" in the book's title is meant to describe a path, not a technique. So his approach is more descriptive than prescriptive. He wants to help you understand what you're going through but doesn't presume to have the answers. He leaves it up to you to figure out what to do.
Bridges' main point is a fairly simple one: that the rootless, confusing transition period one undergoes following a death in the family, divorce, career change or other transformative event should be embraced, not avoided or evaded. These difficult periods of transition, he argues, are precisely the times when we are most likely to be creative and open to inspiration. He illuminates this deceptively simple message with stories from his own life, especially how he dealt with his late wife's battle with cancer. He also sprinkles in lots of poignant quotes from others to help get the point across.
At times, the book borders on the spiritual. There is an underlying assumption that each of us has a sort of personal spiritual quest buried within us and that the purpose of our lives - and all those painful transitions - is to somehow coax out this latent quest and bring us a little closer to enlightenment. Most people who read self-help stuff would probably accept that assumption. But those whose temperament and tastes are more clinical than spiritual might find this short volume a little too warm and fuzzy.
Rating: 5
Summary: Moving -- and very timely
Comment: I read Bridges' "Transitions" about four years ago, when I had just been laid off unexpectedly from my job, and I found it extremely helpful and reassuring. So I bought this book mostly out of curiosity how Bridges himself would handle one of life's most painful transitions. He begins by alternating between an autobiographical account of his wife's final illness and death, and more theoretical chapters discussing transitions in general. But as the story continues with his stunned reaction to her death, and his attempts to embark on the next phase of his life, the personal and the theoretical merge. I was impressed by his honesty -- he's candid about his self-doubts, about himself and his late wife (warts and all), and about the joys and struggles in their 37-year marriage. This made his story all the more compelling by showing him not as the all-knowing "expert," but as someone who's gained his expertise from hard-won personal experience. As he points out repeatedly, life changes don't follow a neat, predictable pattern; but if we embrace the process of transition and are open to what it brings, everything DOES work out eventually (his tentative, bumbling attempts at dating a casual acquaintance develop into love and a second marriage). The book is a fascinating story, but along the way I learned a great deal about life transitions in general (every parent should read his remarks about planning your children's lives!). And at a time when we in the US have just gone through a painful transition ourselves, and are struggling to redefine ourselves and our role in the world, I found his remarks surprisingly relevant on a larger scale too.
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Title: Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges ISBN: 0201000822 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: December, 1980 List Price(USD): $16.50 |
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Title: Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges ISBN: 0738208248 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Creating You & Co: Learn to Think Like the Ceo of Your Own Career by William Bridges ISBN: 0738200328 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.50 |
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Title: Jobshift: How to Prosper in a Workplace Without Jobs by William Bridges ISBN: 0201489333 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: Coping with Life Challenges (2nd Edition) by Chris L. Kleinke ISBN: 1577662350 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
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