Reviews

The years after 40 offer men a "second adulthood," declares Sheehy, a chance to reinvent themselves. But first they must shift from competing to connecting, from incessant striving for external rewards to a quest for inner fulfillment through meaningful pursuits, after determining what they really want of the second half of their lives. In a constructive, enlightening guide to self-discovery for men and their partners, the author of Passages and New Passages uses 100 male interviewees, case histories and medical and psychological research to probe men's feelings about death, spiritual hollowness, empty nest syndrome, separation anxieties, their envy of their empowered working wives, pre-retirement jitters and waning sexual potency. There are enough fresh angles in this searching exploration of male malaise to help men tailor their goals and dreams to real-life circumstances. Author tour. (May)

" Sheehy's advice, bolstered with demographic research, group interviews, medical commentary and personal testimony, is tough and wise."
--The New York Times Book Review
" SHEEHY HAS DONE IT AGAIN: engaged in a good deal of research, interviewed many of the right people, and then produced a beautifully readable, very useful guide to important aspects of adult human development. . . . The cumulative mass of her information, observations, and anecdotes is immensely impressive."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
" Her book will encourage and comfort many men, who--reluctant to confide in their friends or even in their wives--had imagined they were the only ones disheartened and confused by the thorny, arduous path from one stage of life to another."
--People