From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life Hardcover – February 15, 2022

A great book! I loved the mix of quality research, a clear hypothesis, personal accounts, and then the accounts of others. I started out reading it thinking it was a pretty good book, but by the end I felt it was a GREAT book. As I said in the title, I am highly recommending this to my own readers, and friends in the midlife cohort.

Great read for high achievers looking for ways to engage meaningfully, continue to serve, and achieve fulfillment in the second half of life...

Excellent summary of the mental "issues" involved in aging. Only disappointment is that the book "faded" at th end and failed to provide a strategy or set of strategies on how to approach the last decade (or less) of a person's life.

I’ve been reading Arthur Brooks’ Atlantic articles on happiness for some time and have always loved them. He offers sensible and practical advice for finding happiness, backed both by scientific evidence and centuries old wisdom from philosophers. His articles are both informative and fun, and almost always spurs reflection. So, as a fan of Brooks, as well as being someone in my early 50’s, I had to read his new book, which is specifically about finding happiness in the second half of one’s life.Brooks starts here with brutal facts of aging and its impacts on your career. As a person approaches their late 40’s and early 50’s, their cognitive abilities will decline. This is a fact and a source of frustration for many strivers and successful professionals who try to keep up in their professions but find doing so increasingly difficult. This is obvious in some professions, such as athletes, who rely more on their physical abilities. But it is also true for just about any profession, and it is the cause of much unhappiness in middle age.The upside to a person losing their fluid intelligence, as Brooks calls the more rapid and agile intelligence of youth, is that at the same time there is an increase of crystallized intelligence, which essentially translates to wisdom. The key to happiness in middle age and beyond then, according to Brooks, is the transition from relying on fluid intelligence for your success to utilizing your crystallized intelligence to find a higher purpose. And Brooks is here to help you with that.As with his articles, Brooks’ writing is engaging and a joy to read. What he writes here makes sense, and as someone in my early fifties, resonates a lot. His advice is practical and seems a little scary but also achievable. He backs his points up with both scientific data and the wisdom of the great philosophers. He refers frequently to the importance of faith in the process. He gives someone who is suffering through this transition hope. Most importantly, he shows us his vulnerability by sharing his own journey through this process, which led to the writing of this very book.I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone in middle age who feels stuck in their careers or life in general. From Strength to Strength is a great place to start getting back on track.

This book is a great roadmap for the sometimes scary journey from an active striving career to “retirement”, or a second act. A. Brooks lays out a readable journal for a fulfilling, second stage of life. Jump, while you say his seven words of wisdom.

I really wanted to like this book. I think its a very important topic, both to me personally and to society more generally.The basic messages of the book about finding purpose in the second half of life and transitioning your focus, priorities and sense of purpose are good.But it feels like it was written for a very specific and small slice of society. For those people who have so totally consumed their early life with career pursuits as to be near caricatures of power-obsessed, money chasing, Type-A personalities. In truth, most people are not that. Most people are far more nuanced than the people he was speaking to in this book. Most in their 50s are also still consumed with many of life's responsibilities like raising kids and paying for college.I also take issue with his "you are in decline, accept it" set up. He laces it with research, but I'd summarize it again as being focused on a very slim portion of society. Instead, I would title the chapter "Lightning rarely strikes twice" ... meaning, you were a super performer because you did something awesome in your 20s. Don't expect a repeat. Evolve and grow.And yet, the core messages are good and there are valuable things to take away from the book.So, overall, its gets 3 stars.

The book prepares the reader to feel confident in oneself and more forward thinking. The set up in the first part explains how we grow and strenghten personally and professionally. Then we are shown how to capture all of our knowledge and leverage it to improve ones life (or help others improve). It is an easy read in the sense that the writer explains the concepts simply and in terms that can be consdiered very common sense. I have purchased copies to give as gifts to friends and families.