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Transitions: Making Sense Of Life's Changes Paperback – Aug. 11 2004
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There is a newer edition of this item:
- Print length208 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDa Capo Press
- Publication dateAug. 11 2004
- Dimensions13.97 x 1.91 x 20.96 cm
- ISBN-10073820904X
- ISBN-13978-0738209043
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Review
Racine Journal Times, 3/3/11
“Excellent.”
Cleveland Sun Messenger, 3/24/11 “Provid[es] an elegantly simple yet profoundly insightful roadmap of the transition process.”
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Da Capo Press; Expanded, Updated edition (Aug. 11 2004)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 208 pages
- ISBN-10 : 073820904X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0738209043
- Item weight : 184 g
- Dimensions : 13.97 x 1.91 x 20.96 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #222,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #92 in Experimental Psychology (Books)
- #584 in Psychiatry Books
- #621 in Neuropsychology (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

William Bridges is an internationally known speaker, author, and consultant who advises individuals and organizations in how to deal productively with change. His ten books include an expanded third edition of his best-seller, Managing Transitions (2009), and the updated second edition of Transitions (2004), which together have sold over one million copies. Before that he published The Way of Transition (2000), a partly autobiographical study of coming to terms with profound changes in his own life and transforming them into times of self-renewal. He published Creating You & Co., a handbook for creating a work-life that capitalizes on today's frequent and disruptive changes, and the ground-breaking Jobshift.
For three decades, he has guided thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations through the maze of the transitions that accompany change. He focuses on the Transition, or psychological reorientation, people must go through to come to terms with changes in their lives. His three-phase model of Endings, Neutral Zone and New Beginnings is widely known. The professional seminars that he launched in 1988 have now certified more than 5,000 managers, trainers and consultants worldwide to conduct Transition Management programs. His later work has focused on bringing the principles of Transition Management into the non-profit world. He has been a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and corporate meetings in the United States and abroad.
Educated originally in the humanities at Harvard, Columbia, and Brown Universities, he was (until his own career change in 1974) a professor of American Literature at Mills College, Oakland, CA. He is a past president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. The Wall Street Journal listed him as one of the top ten independent executive development presenters in America.
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I was then reminded I originally bought this book in 2011 while in a program. I really resonated and appreciate Bridge's model of stages involved in change. This stayed with me since 2011. I found myself referencing these stages a few months ago as I recognized what was happening in my life now.
It is so true new beginnings can only truly start after something in our life is coming to an end. This ending needs to be acknowledged and possibly grieved for me to truly benefit and gain the most positive results from a new beginning. I personally need to do this so I am not continually doubting myself once I have made a decision to make any kind of change big or small. Also I have become more aware if I stay in limbo for too long. It is me getting stuck in a neutral zone and my life is becoming too stagnant for too long.
There are even more gems in the book with the real life examples of how others manage or did not manage transitional changes in their live. I am glad this book is still around as it is very relevant for anyone at any stage of life both personally and professionally. It can support anyone in recognizing many of the underlying layers we do not always consider are relevant during transitional changes.
Top reviews from other countries

I read Bridges as making 2 main points: (1) Change happens to everyone, all the time, but that's just logistics - we move house, change cars and so forth. Transition, however, is psychological, and that's why it's hard, and that's what this book is about. (2) Before a new beginning there has to be an ending. Bridges' model is: ending, neutral zone, new beginning, and his proposition is that people in a transition need to recognise and accept the endings before we can make a good new beginning. He talks about 5 'D's - disengagement, disorientation, dismantling, dis-identification, disenchantment and disorientation, which seemed to me be various facets of letting go, and essential for good endings.
If you are struggling with changes in your life and finding it confusing then I empathise - we are fellow travellers - and want to understand (as opposed to being told what to do) then you might find this book useful and interesting: I certainly did, which is why I've just bought another of his books.

After reading the book it was as if I was reading what was REALLY going through my mind the last few months... Things finally started making sense, I accepted that this processes "Endings - Neutral Zone - New beginnings" are natural to us and by me fighting to speed up the process I was only setting up myself to fail in the future and depriving me of all the learnings...
I love this book! I have recommended it to many of my friends. It will change the way you think and open up your mind, forever


A great comfort - tests your intelligence, realistic - the language used is accessible - no useless 'motivational' messages just sticks to the point.
Recommended
