The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Mid-Life (Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts)

"This is a fantastic little book. Hollis writes with great clarity about the challenges of midlife. It is a book both for professional therapists and interested non-specialists, for it addresses issues with insight but without heavy vocabulary. He encapsulates an important truth; that crisis and midlife neurosis represent "a wonderful, though often painful, opportunity to revision our sense of self."

I will be recommending it widely."
~ Written on 2008-07-21

"I have always been interested in the theories of Carl Jung, yet often found the contemporary texts written by or about him somewhat heavy going as a read. Hollis makes the teachings of Jung much more accessable in this book, drawing upon references to contemporary literature and art to illustrate his points, i found this book fascinating from both a psychological and literary perspective.
The middle passage, more commonly referred to as 'the mid life crisis' (not exclusive to men and can happen anywhewhere from early 30's to late 50's) is a period in our personal evolution we all go through, when the methods and strategies learnt in childhood suddenly become irrelevant to the life we want to live, we have to start over, to find ourselves anew. The process of shedding our skin is often a painful and labourious time, Hollis brings the meaning to this period of misery. Helping us to understand the necessity and inevitability of these growing pains and the meaning that underlies them.
At a time in my life when all i could feel was the pain, Hollis landed in my lap, held my hand and reassured me that what i was going through was a normal part of human development and not the end of the world. What a relief!
I intend to read the rest of his books now and would recommend anyone who is feeling that suddenly their life doesn't make sense to read this one."
~ Written on 2004-08-08