U-Turn (eBook)

In this impressively researched and incisive book, Bruce Grierson draws on over three hundred stories of so-called 'U-turners,' who have risked their livelihoods to answer a sudden wake-up call. We meet people who change political parties and careers, doctors who quit to become poets, men who become women, people who suddenly become revolutionaries for a cause they didn't care about the day before. In chapters that address everything from the neuroscience behind epiphanies to the possibility of 'forcing' a U-turn, Grierson brilliantly describes and elucidates this powerful, mysterious phenomenon, and in doing so illuminates all of our continual struggles with life choices and identity. PRAISE: 'Once a staple of the American Dream, change and rebirth are increasingly derided as dangerous or silly, a manifestation of a life 'crisis.' In his fascinating, balanced, thoroughly researched and readable look at the 'U-Turn,' Bruce Grierson gives this phenomenon its due. His view of the 'wake-up call' as the secular equivalent of the religious epiphany is brilliant. U-turns are not always good or beneficial, but almost always significant, frequently life-altering. This book is essential for anyone contemplating meaningful change.' -Jon Katz, author of Running to the Mountain and A Good Dog 'U-Turn is a very smart, grounded, wise, well-written and important book. Using compelling human-scale stories, Bruce Grierson explores the dynamics involved in making major life-changes. The result is not only a fascinating study of other people's lives. Here is a map that offers guidance to anyone tempted to take a detour en route to who-knows-where.'-Parker J. Palmer, author of A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach 'Grierson has pulled together a remarkable collection of tales of dramatic personal transformation, in which people appear to make sudden u-turns in their lives. These myste Read this book for the tales it tells, for the inspiration it imparts, or for the knowledge it so generously gives.-Lauren Slater, author of Welcome to My Country

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In this impressively researched and incisive book, Bruce Grierson draws on over three hundred stories of so-called "e;U-turners,"e; who have risked their livelihoods to answer a sudden wake-up call. We meet people who change political parties and careers, doctors who quit to become poets, men who become women, people who suddenly become revolutionaries for a cause they didn't care about the day before. In chapters that address everything from the neuroscience behind epiphanies to the possibility of "e;forcing"e; a U-turn, Grierson brilliantly describes and elucidates this powerful, mysterious phenomenon, and in doing so illuminates all of our continual struggles with life choices and identity.