Brewi and Brennan use a blend of Christianity with Jungian psychology to address four stages of the mid-life process: the archetypal perspective, the task of coming to terms with the "shadow personality," working with the inner child, so that the child can lead the adult into this new stage of living, and exploring Wisdom, the fruit of living.

The first fully illustrated biography of Carl Jung—the great 20th-century thinker famous for his pioneering exploration of dreams, consciousness, and spirituality in psychology Carl Jung continues to be revered today as a true revolutionary who helped to shape psychology, provided a bridge between Western and Eastern spirituality, and brought into general awareness such fundamental concepts as archetypes, the collective unconscious, and synchronicity. In this important book, Claire Dunne chronicles Jung’s journey of self-discovery from a childhood filled with visions both terrifying and profound, through his early professional success, to his rediscovery of spirituality in mid-life. Special attention is paid to the tumultuous relationships between Jung and Sigmund Freud, the unconventional yet vital role performed by his colleague Toni Wolff, and the revelatory visions Jung experienced following a close brush with death. The words of Jung himself and those who shared his work and private life are shared verbatim, connected by Claire Dunne’s lively and accessible commentary and by an evocative array of illustrations—including photographs of Jung, his associates, and the environments in which he lived and worked, as well as art images both ancient and contemporary that reflect Jung’s teachings. Jung emerges as a healer whose skills arose from having first attended to the wounds in his own soul. This is an essential work of reference as well as a fascinating and entertaining read for everyone interested in psychology, spirituality, and personal development.

This is the first of the authors' four books dealing with the mid-life crisis. At mid-life, each of us is faced with crucial questions: Will I or will I not hold fast to the security of the familiar? Will I or will I not go on living the second half of life out of the same meanings, values, and goals as I did in the first half of life? Will I petrify? Will I regress? Using Jungian personality theory and the Christian doctrines of creation and incarnation, this book integrates theories from adult development psychology with the ancient wisdom and modern methods of theological reflection. It concretely explores ways of recognizing and naming the ongoing stories that form the structure of our lives, for narrative can sustain one through the hiatus between the first and second halves of life. The book also encourages the reader to experience prayer and meditation as creative ways through the faith crisis of the mid-life years.

Analyst and author Ann Belford Ulanov draws on her years of clinical work and reflection to make the point that madness and creativity share a kinship, an insight that shakes both analysand and analyst to the core, reminding us as it does that the suffering places of the human psyche are inextricably—and, often inexplicably—related to the fountains of creativity, service, and even genius. She poses disturbing questions: How do we depend on order, when chaos is a necessary part of existence? What are we to make of evil—both that surrounding us and that within us? Is there a myth of meaning that can contain all the differences that threaten to shatter us? Ulanov’s insights unfold in conversation with themes in Jung’s Red Book which, according to Jung, present the most important experiences of his life, themes he explicated in his subsequent theories. In words and paintings Jung displays his psychic encounters from1913–1928, describing them as inner images that “burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me.” Responding to some of Jung’s more fantastic encounters as he illustrated them, Ulanov suggests that our problems and compulsions may show us the path our creativity should take. With Jung she asserts that the multiplicities within and around us are, paradoxically, pieces of a greater whole that can provide healing and unity as, in her words, “every part of us and of our world gets a seat at the table.” Taken from Ulanov’s addresses at the 2012 Fay Lectures in Analytical Psychology, Madness and Creativity stands as a carefully crafted presentation, with many clinical examples of human courage and fulfillment.

Midlife: crisis, anger, change... Drawing on analytic experience, dreams, and myths, the author, a well-known analyst, formulates the three main features of the middle passage. First an erosion of attachments. Then hints of a fresh spirit, renegade and mischievous, that scoffs at routines. This new spirit disrupts life and alarms family and friends. Finally, with luck, a transformation occurs; life begins again. Murray Stein, former president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology, has written a best-selling, good-humored book, brimming with shrewd counsel and cultural relevance.

Offers a spiritual perspective on mid-life crisis, and discusses the arche-types of life cycle, child, and the wisdom of Christ.

John Robinson presents the compelling journey from youth to middle age in this study of the spiritual and psychological realities of male midlife. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.