Life Is in the Transitions

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets of Happy Families and Council of Dads, a pioneering study of the disruptions upending contemporary life and a bold guide for how to navigate life's growing number of transitions with more meaning, balance, and joy.

Bruce Feiler has long been writing about the stories that give our lives meaning. Recently he began to notice a new pattern: Many of us feel overwhelmed by the unprecedented pace of change we're experiencing. We know that our old stories, with their predictable plot points along linear paths, no longer hold true. The idea that we'll have one job, one relationship, one source of happiness is hopelessly outdated. Yet we're unnerved by all this upheaval. We're concerned that our lives are not what we expected; that we're veering off course; living life out of order.

Galvanized by a personal crisis and family emergency, Feiler set out on what became an epic journey. He crisscrossed the country, collecting hundreds of life stories from Americans of all ages, all walks of life, and in all fifty states. He then spent a year coding these stories, identifying patterns and takeaways for how we live now and how can live better. But we're not alone.

Life Is in the Transitions introduces a fresh, illuminating vision of the nonlinear life, in which each of us faces dozens of disruptors. Drawing on his extraordinary trove of insights, Feiler unveils a powerful new transition toolkit with proven strategies for coping with these pivotal, painful, unsettling times. From a master storyteller with a timely message, Life Is in the Transitions can move readers of any age to think deeply about times of personal change and how to transform them into periods of creativity and growth.