Turns in the Road: Narrative Studies of Lives in Transition

How do people make meaning out of the transitions in their lives? In Turns in the Road: Narrative Studies of Lives in Transition, accomplished scholars explore highly personalized life narratives to help us understand significant transitions and turning points in the human life course. Their analyses reveal the nuances of such transitions as adolescents gaining a stronger sense of identity, recent graduates taking their place in the world of work, a young man struggling to overcome addiction, and middle-aged women coming to terms with divorce. Uniting them all are dramatic epiphanies and conversions that lead to a new sense of self in the world.The stories we make and tell about major transitions in our own lives contribute to our identities, help us cope with challenges and stress, shape how we see the future, and help to determine the nature of our relationships and our unique positions in the world. Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and other scholars will find Turns in the Road an invaluable and insightful collection of essays on the moments in lives that become the framework for understanding who we have been, who we are, and who we will become. Read more