Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life

RADICALLY REIMAGINE THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE

"There can be a certain perverse pleasure, as well as a sense of rightness and beauty, in insisting on flowering just when the world expects you to become quiet and diminish."
-- from the book

For any woman over fifty who has ever asked "What now? Who do I want to be?" comes a life-changing book showing how your next phase of life may be your most dynamic yet. As mythologist and psychologist Sharon Blackie describes it, midlife is the threshold to decades of opportunity and profound transformation, a time to learn, flourish, and claim the desires and identities that are often limited during earlier life stages. This is a time for gaining new perspectives, challenging and evolving belief systems, exploring callings, uncovering meaning, and ultimately finding healing for accumulated wounds.

Western folklore and mythology are rife with brilliantly creative, fulfilled, feisty, and furious role models for aging women, despite our culture's focus on youthfulness. Blackie explores these archetypes in Hagitude, presenting them in a way sure to appeal to contemporary women. Drawing inspiration from these examples as well as modern mentors, you can reclaim midlife as a liberating, alchemical moment rich with possibility and your elder years as a path to feminine power.

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320 pages

Average rating: 4.33

3 RATINGS

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PackSunshine
Jan 05, 2025
8/10 stars
I was tempted to give this book 3 stars, because I think it rambles quite a bit at the end. I wasn't able to connect with the last third very well. However, the first part of the book was extremely relevant to my life as a 64 year old woman who is trying to re-invent myself. Life throws some curveballs, and we need to give ourselves the blessing to shed our old skin and look at what we want to keep from our core. Examining this in the context of folk tales and archetypes was fascinating. I originally borrowed it from the library, then decided to buy my own copy so I could highlight the parts that had more meaning to me.

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