Overview

In this groundbreaking book, one of the most innovative thinkers in medicine explains how to recognize and navigate the most challenging and fulfilling developmental stage of life. How do you know that you are outgrowing adulthood? When you begin to feel that the life you have been living is out of balance; when the need to perform, to hurry, and to acquire is no longer compelling. It's like the moment when your favorite tennis shoes start to give you blisters. The way you've been living your adult life doesn't fulfill you anymore. Dr. Bill Thomas, one of the most innovative thinkers in medicine, explains that a new life phase is beginning to emerge within our society. When the Baby Boom generation came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, they jump-started a cultural revolution that shaped today's society. Now, many feel they are living a life of frenzied disharmony. This out-of-balance feeling is a signal that you are ready for your second coming of age, your life beyond adult-hood. Second Wind illuminates how to recognize and navigate the most challenging and fulfilling developmental stage of life. Life can and should be reimagined. New ways of living and working are waiting to be discovered on the far side of adulthood. Dr. Thomas treats the Baby Boom generation as he would one of his patients, sympathetically exploring its history before recommending a path toward a life rich with developmental opportunities. Predicting that Boomers will choose the path of the Denialist, the Realist, or the Enthusiast, he discusses the behav-iors and attitudes that will provide new and more nourishing fuel for the rest of life's journey: hope and a renewed sense of all that is possible.

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9781451667561

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Reviews

Second Wind is a tour de force. A beautifully crafted narrative on the forces that have shaped the baby boom generation. And a roadmap for how this massive group can now use their accumulated wisdom and elderhood as a potent force for cultural renewal, connection, and deep healing. --Christiane Northrup, M.D., OB/GYN physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause As the great migration beyond midlife gathers momentum and scale, millions are looking for deeper meaning, more significant roles, and connections that span the generations--asking the question, How do I live a life that still matters?. Bill Thomas has emerged as the visionary leader and preeminent storyteller of this movement to make a monument out of what once were considered the leftover years. And now, with Second Wind, he has given us an inspiring and pragmatic guide for the path to purpose in the second half of life. It is destined to become a classic. --Marc Freedman, Founder/CEO, Encore.org and author The Big Shift Digging ever deeper into the etiology of what he learned treating the frailest people in nursing homes, Dr. William Thomas came to realize that the very culture in which we age needs to be healed. Second Wind is his RX for healing not just the cultural disease that exacerbates every illness that afflicts old age, but also the 'Koyaanisquati, ' the life out of balance diagnosed by Hopi elders that threatens the future of humanity. As he demonstrates in Second Wind, it's all connected. --Barry Barkan, Director, Live Oak Institute Slowing down as we age, in the way that Dr. William Thomas means it, is not only a pleasure, but also a necessity. The brain research is clear: if we don't de-stress and rethink our lives in our fifties and beyond, we can not only lose our longevity but also increase our rates of depression, anxiety, and mental illness down the line. And so I will personally heed Dr. Thomas's advice in Second Wind, and I highly recommend this very practical and accessible book to everyone over fifty. --Michael Gurian, author of The Wonder of Aging In Second Wind, Bill Thomas goes deep inside our culture. Like the best kind of doctor, he evaluates the toll our hurried, quantified, and driven lives have taken on us before he suggests a new way forward. He'll challenge the way you think about your future. And you'll want to make the journey with him. --Jane Pauley, author of Your Life Calling

As the great migration beyond midlife gathers momentum and scale, millions are looking for deeper meaning, more significant roles, and connections that span the generations--asking the question, How do I live a life that still matters?. Bill Thomas has emerged as the visionary leader and preeminent storyteller of this movement to make a monument out of what once were considered the leftover years. And now, with Second Wind, he has given us an inspiring and pragmatic guide for the path to purpose in the second half of life. It is destined to become a classic. --Marc Freedman, Founder/CEO, Encore.org and author The Big Shift

In Second Wind , Bill Thomas goes deep inside our culture. Like the best kind of doctor, he evaluates the toll our hurried, quantified, and driven lives have taken on us before he suggests a new way forward. He'll challenge the way you think about your future. And you'll want to make the journey with him. --Jane Pauley, author of Your Life Calling

Author Information

Dr. Bill Thomas is a visionary and internationally recognized expert on aging. He is an Ashoka Fellow and winner of the Heinz Award for the Human Condition. He cocreated The Eden Alternative, an international nonprofit, and The Green House Project, both models to revolutionize nursing home care. In addition to teaching, speaking, and consulting internationally, he is currently a Senior Fellow at AARP's Life Reimagined Institute. A graduate of the State University of New York and Harvard Medical School, he lives in Ithaca, New York with his family.

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