Seasons of Life: The Dramatic Journey from Birth to Death

Throughout the ages and in every culture, people have used the seasons as a metaphor to mark life’s transitions and to help understand the purpose and meaning of our mortal journey. In the last few decades, there has been an astonishing growth in our knowledge of human development through the entire life span; at the same time, there has been dramatic change in the timetables of our lives. Seasons of Life, a companion book to the acclaimed PBS television series, interprets the fascinating work and discoveries of hundreds of social scientists and, through the personal stories of dozens of ordinary individuals, reveals the rich drama of life’s passages at the end of the twentieth century. The portrait of human life depicted here is a powerful one that transcends its sources and offers a new view of the ways in which Western man’s evolution sometimes hinders and occasionally enhances his environmental reality. –Kirkus Reviews John Kotre, professor of psychology, University of Michigan, Dearborn, has published four books, including Outliving the Self: Generativity and the Interpretation of Lives and White Gloves: How We Create Ourselves through Memory. Elizabeth Hall is a journalist, consultant, and author of twelve books, including Growing and Changing: What the Experts Say.