Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places (Studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts)

"pearls of precious meaning dripped off these pages. i felt very grateful, rich, expanded and humbled that there are people in the world who can write like this, and do this work. a deep and fascinating book about the "badtimes" and their hidden gifts and meaning."
~ Written on 2005-05-11

"Have you got to the stage of going to sleep hoping you don't wake up again, and then when you do wake up, not being able to face your partener, then going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror and asking yourself, a la David Byrne: "How did I get here?".

You have.

Then this book might help (a bit)."
~ Written on 2004-09-30

"James Hollis confronts the contemporary myth that the goal of life is happiness, asserting instead that it is meaning. Working from the perspective of a Jungian analyst he draws from an eclectic range of sources including Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Bible, Buddhism and Nietzsche, to name just a few. He works through many of the issues that humanity struggles with, such as guilt, grief, doubt, depression, anger and fear. Instead of offering a soothing balm to relieve the pain, he encourages the reader to work through the problem he is confronted with. He constantly repeats the question "What task are we avoiding? There is always a task." The sections are illustrated by brief case histories, which help the reader to identify with the abstract concepts being expounded. The book ends with a chapter entitled "Going Through", concerned with "Re-Imagining Ourselves" - which I interpret as courageously evolving our self-image. This is not a book of quick fixes, but it does offer realistic and solid ideas for the reader who would rather face swamps than shallows."
~ Written on 2003-07-15