You-Turn: Changing Direction in Midlife by Dr. Nancy Irwin

Released: 2008 / 277 pages

First paragraph: “What is it with society and numbers? Start school at age 6, graduate high school at 18, finish college by 22 and retire at 65. And who says we have to stop growing, changing and evolving as we continue to grow up? Not me. And not the millions who, as they reach what I call “middlescence,” stand at the crossroads of their past and future and decide to take an alternate route.”

Summary (from back cover): You-Turn: Changing Direction in Midlife is a collection of inspiring stories from real people who started a new path and will motivate you to do the same. Whether you’re looking to change careers, begin a relationship, have children, find meaning or just find balance, this book is for you. It also includes a “drivers manual” and tips on easing yourself into a life of change.

Review: Well, my long-time readers will understand why I agreed to read this Advance Reader Copy! A year ago I stepped away from a fifteen year teaching career to examine the direction of my own life.

Since then, I have started this blog (and a second one is about to be launched next week!), trained to become an online teacher, and embraced the flexibility and freedom my life was lacking.  As I’ve written before, it has been a wonderful, much-needed year and I’m hoping to continue to find ways to embrace this sense of energy and peace, no matter what my next chapter looks like.

So, reading stories about others who changed direction mid-life was just too alluring to pass… and I’m glad I didn’t!  Now, granted, each and every story was MUCH more interesting, challenging, and inspiring than mine has been (thankfully, in most cases, since many of the changes were born from tragedy).  Many of the stories focus on how people are able to turn adversity and pain into new endeavors that benefit many, many other people. 

For example, the first story involves a mother whose 24 year old daughter commits suicide.  As the family is collecting her things, they notice that she had been donating money to an orphanage in India.  So, after the mother asked that mourners donate to this orphanage in her daughter’s name, the orphanage contacted her and now, 8 years later, this woman runs Rising Star Outreach, a volunteer organization that helps leprosy victims in India.  The stories are each told by the actual person and are both quick to read and inspiring to witness. 

Before the 40 stories are told, the book begins with a couple of sections setting up a framework for how to make a significant change, including questions to help identify what is and is not working in your current situation. For example:

• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
• If money were no object, what would you be doing?
• If time were no obstacle, what would you be doing?

While these questions are not ground-breaking or original, reading 40 stories of people who either “fell into” or actively chose a different direction is truly inspiring and does give new life to questions that otherwise might seem stale.

Who would enjoy this?  I would recommend this book to anyone considering a change or who enjoys inspiring stories of perserverance (like the Chicken Soup books, for example).

If this sounds like something you might enjoy — you are in luck!  I am giving away a free copy! 

And to connect to my own story, as I wrote Monday, I am currently participating in Blogging Idol.  So, in order to enter the random drawing for a free copy, simply tell a friend about my blog and then leave me a comment below!  The idea behind Blogging Idol is to get even more readers, so I figure I’ll try to get word of mouth working for me!   

Also, if you enjoy reading my blog, but are not currently a subscriber (which simply means that you get my daily updates sent directly to you through email or a reader), consider subscribing!  It’s free and easy…  (the subscription form is at the top of my blog).  Either way, thanks for reading!

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