Second Journey

While I have truly loved all of Joan Anderson's books, this Second Journey is so welcome because of the tendency we all have to "slip back" into old habits after breakthroughs. Every time I realize a personal truth and attempt to own it consciously, the Universe provides tests (obstacles), to see if I can really integrate this truth into my everyday life. It was so refreshing to know that Joan experienced this also and I am so grateful she wrote about it. This book was truly special!

Yet another tremendous book ! Tremendous peace, (yes some tears) and working through my own stuff... Look forward to her next sharings.

I'm not a huge fan of many self-help books because all too often they: 1. Say what people already know and just want affirmed 2. Are light on reflection and heavy on pop psychology or psychology "lite", easy to digest and not very challenging 3. Written by people who come across as experts but impart nothing new or special. This book is different. As I began to read it, I really enjoyed the way the author, Joan Anderson, shared personal anecdotes about her life to gently lead readers to observe and come up with their own conclusions. Yes, the author does share her own reflections and lessons but it isn't done in a heavy-handed way. Part of the reason I may have enjoyed this book so much is because I related to the author's life. She wrote of having an aging parent, struggles with writing and success and falling short of people's expectations. However, she does this with such vivid descriptions of her life and activities that I felt like I was right there, in the moment with her. Basically, this is a book about a woman who has written best-selling books and still struggles to achieve balance. All too often, she overextends herself, gets stressed out and tries to take care of too many people. There are plenty of women in the same boat. I am one of them. This book allowed me to slow down, start to think about what really matters and make some important changes. It did so without being preachy or taking me by the hand and showing me THE WAY. Even if you don't change a thing about your life after reading this, you'll have had the pleasure of having experienced a good writer in top form, vividly recalling parts of her life. Aimed at women in their midlife (40s, 50s or beyond), I think this book could be read by women of various ages. I wish I'd read it in my 20s. It would have served as a cautionary tale then. Now it was a wake-up call. The author faces a serious crisis and it takes quite a lot for her to face the reality of what is happening to her emotionally. And that is all I'm going to reveal about this one. Hopefully, that is enough to get you to want to know more.

Blueprints for the second half This story is a heart felt story, one that almost every woman can relate to. Finding the YOU after it's been covered with the dust of life's living. The protagonist could be Joan Anderson or anyone of us. The antagonist? Life. Women who have been married, raised children grandchildren, have given themselves to others, leaving nothing left. How does one learn to live that Second half, after raising a family, caregiving, or just giving to `others' calls in life? I like the way Joan Anderson writes. She has a new fresh voice of truth. I haven't read her other books but am looking forward to doing so. A quote I loved from 'The Second Journey': "To live wholly or holy is not to reach for some otherness but to penetrate deeply into each moment, hour, or season." This tells it all. If you want to find yourself in the second half of life's Journey, this is a good way to start. She gives you, so to speak, the blueprints. Try it, I think you will like it. I did.

Joan Anderson courageously opens up her inner life to herself and then to the reading world baring her humanness - her quirks and questions with deep, introspective writing. Thankfully, for me, Joan has a 10-year lead and I have been amply blessed by her searches and journeys to be true and real to herself and to others as life continues beyond the former roles of "good mom/good wife". Here she shares her ten years after becoming the best-selling author of A YEAR BY THE SEA. As life would have it, we continue to be the same person we were before - working the same challenges in perhaps different venues. I appreciate this woman - this human being so very much for her huge honesty and courage to care enough about herself and care enough about truth for her readers who also search juggling old programming and discovering all the ways we learn about connecting to deep true meaning within and in life. Navigating a long-time marriage and the ever-evolving new chapters as we age, our aging parents, adult kids and their families, who we are in this world as a friend, a writer, a teacher, a student in our 50's and 60's. Anderson generously invites me on adventures to islands I likely will never travel but because she so thoroughly shares her experiences, I benefit. I highly recommend this book and her A YEAR BY THE SEA and if Meryl Streep is reading this -- MAKE THE MOVIE!