Finding meaning in the second half of life

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1. good-ideaMar 2026
   This is going to be a difficult time.. and that's OK. Great change is upon you.

   One book I cannot recommend enough is Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life by James Hollis.

   Listen deeply to yourself, be kind with yourself. It's so very hard but so very very rewarding.

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2. ryanwaggonerDec 2022
   "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." -- Albert Camus

   First of all, I'm sorry that you're suffering. It seems completely normal that you'd be struggling given all you've been through. I know what that sense of despair feels like, and how lonely it can be. I've been there, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

   I wouldn't say I've "turned my life around", but I'm 40 and in the last few years I've gone through a loss of my faith and a divorce (unrelated to each other), both of which were incredibly traumatic and really shook the foundations of my world. During the darkest days, it was really a crucible, a refining process. It was stripping away so much of what I had built my identity around.

   The most transformative and healing things for me have been therapy, psychedelics, meditation, and divorce. I'm not recommending them all to everyone, but they changed me for the better.

   And coming out the other side, I have such a better relationship with myself. I barely recognize myself from before. And as a result, I have a better relationship with my daughter, my friends, my family, my work, even with my ex-wife. I feel so much happier and more excited for the second half of my life than I ever have. I'm in a new relationship that feels open and healthy, and I'm planning to switch careers to be a therapist.

   If you like to read, two foundational books that helped me:

   - Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff

   - Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life by James Hollis

   Good luck, you can do this!

   PS - my email is in my profile, please don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need someone to talk to. I was helped through this period by many other kind people, some of them strangers, and I'm always happy to pay it forward and lend an ear and some support to anyone who needs it. That goes for anyone reading this too!

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3. markdjacobsenJan 2022
   I'm sorry you've been going through this. I can relate somewhat. I have been successful by most standards, but made large sacrifices for "paths less taken" that didn't work out like I'd hoped. That included a prestigious PhD, which I did complete but was a grueling experience that ravaged my mental health (grad school can be absolutely brutal for this). Everything culminated between 35-40, a hard season of questioning the direction of my life, feeling restless and dissatisfied, and yearning for something I couldn't name.

   You will find plenty of practical advice (such as about career changes), which may be helpful. Professional mental health care can also be important. But I'd also encourage you to take the "inner journey" aspect of this seriously. When we enter these listless seasons, it's often because our soul is alerting us to something in our life that isn't working for us... and thus offering us an opportunity to learn and grow. The darkness has a lot to teach if you do the inner work to slow down and listen to what it has to say. During these years I gained a lot of empathy and wisdom about life.

   Passing through these seasons is a universal part of the human experience, and you'll find some wonderful guides. Some of my favorite resources include this article by David Brooks [0], "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life" by James Hollis, "Let Your Life Speak" by Parker Palmer, "Falling Upward" by Richard Rohr, "Crossing the Unknown Sea" by David Whyte, and "Reboot" by Jerry Colonna.

   I also wrote a book about my own experience, titled "Eating Glass: The Inner Journey Through Failure and Renewal", designed to help others navigate these seasons. I have numerous free chapters here [1]. My main goal for the book is just to help others going through these seasons, so if you email me, I'll send you a free digital copy. I sincerely wish you luck finding your way through this season.

   [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/opinion/sunday/moral-revo... [1] https://markdjacobsen.com/eating-glass/

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