The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself by Joan Anderson

Title: The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself
Author: Joan Anderson
ISBN: 9781401303396
Publisher: Hyperlion/April 29, 2008
Pages: 224/Hardcover

I then sat down with a book, I had started earlier. I had received this for review purposes. The Second Journey is written by Joan Anderson and is about unexpected changes, which somehow come out of nowhere. That stops us on suddenly from whatever path out lives has been taking at that moment. and we are left to take stock of it before it is too late. It is about choosing. Whether to stay in the same rot or move to another direction. Most of us dislike change and do nothing. In a way that is detrimental for our life. We need to try to rearrange our life so that it is more fulfilling.

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"Book Description

Nearly a decade after the debut of her bestselling, life-changing classic A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson is busy. When she's not on the road helping groups of women search for their true selves, she's working on her latest book. And when she's "not working," she's taking care of her husband, her grown children, her grandchildren, and her ninety-one-year-old mother. Joan is stretched so thin from being all things to all people that she doesn't even realize how out of control her life has become. Ironically, she finds she needs to listen to her own advice more than anyone else does. It takes a serious intervention--from her best friends, her doctor, and her husband--before she finally wakes up.

The Second Journey chronicles Joan's quest to restore her own equilibrium and find herself again. Suffused with her characteristic humor and warmth, this is a book for any woman who wants to know how to awaken her own independent spirit and set herself on a new path. Joan shares her musings on love, marriage, growing older, family, aging parents, and spirituality as she casts a watchful eye on her own life and helps readers find peace and inspiration within their own lives. She offers reassurance that the best is yet to come, and empowers other women to come of age in the middle of life.

The call to a second journey usually commences when unexpected change is thrust upon you, causing a crisis of feelings so great that you are stopped in your tracks. Personal events such as a betrayal, a diagnosis of serious illness, the death of a loved one, loss of self-esteem, a fall from power are only a few of the catalysts. A woman caught thusly has no choice but to pause, isolate, even relocate until she can reevaluate the direction in which she should head. Should she stay the course or choose another path? The goal is to come of age in the middle of life rather than live out our days lacking purpose and energy. It's all about rearranging our lives in our own image. "

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In a way, I am at that crossroad of my life. I have had to change my place of living. And I am kind of thinking of changing my very secure job. I can stay in the same rot and do nothing or move on to new pastures. I have started to think, do I want the same thing in another 10 years? And what do I really want?

This book has made me think. There has not been any drastic changes in mylife unless I wish for it. Am I prepared? That is the big question which needs to be answered. My life has no parallel with Joan's. However, we all have certain questions and certain values. Do we really value ourselves? Or do we live in the images of others?

I liked the verses and quotations at the beginning of each chapter. A few are by well-known poets and others I had not heard of. This book has inspired me to set a goal for myself and follow it through. I have to direct my thoughts and energy towards achieving that. I usually keep away from self-help books. This time I am glad I did not. With personal stories, Joan has made this a very interesting read.