Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond (Artist's Way)

Julia writes a good many books about self-invention and respecting the creativity we are all born with. this one is particularly topical as it addresses the senior audience and issues of retirement and rebirth, or, if you prefer, simple adjustment. i prefer rebirth. inspiring and practical. one thought: do your morning pages!

It took me some time to actually appreciate The Artist's Way. I was so excited to see a similar book that I thought would speak to me. Reading it, I realized that by Midlife Julia Cameron really means those of retirement age - the age of my parents. I was still able to pull out some wonderful things from this book but the anecdotes barely applied to me. Most of them felt a lot like blah, blah, blah. But I can appreciate those stories.
Things I loved that I wish would be added to a new version of The Artist's Way:
Walks - to be added to a regular routine in addition to Artist Dates. This is a basic, no plans made, walk in solitude.
The Memoir - a regular exploration of your past. Since the book is to take you 12 weeks, you break your life up into 12 chunks and each week write about that particular time period.

Outside of that, this book is much like The Artist's Way but designed for those who have retired from one side of their life and are ready to explore a more creative time in their lives. It's a great book and I may pick up a copy for my mom. Meanwhile, I'm going to work to incorporate the tasks that are different into my Artist's Way routing.

As an aside, I have to say what I love best about this book is that Julia Cameron confesses she still doesn't have it all together. I love that she still has doubt and still struggles. Not because I want her to be less than perfect but because it gives me hope that I can still be an open and "successful" creative at any stage in my life and those dark days are normal for everyone.

We baby boomers are reaching retirement age in droves. Some might say, “Now what?”

Cameron has written this insightful book specifically for those in such a transition. Her belief is that each of us has something unique to contribute to the world. We now have the time and experience we didn't have in our career building years to discover a new way to relate to the world.

Those familiar with Cameron's work will recognize the Morning Pages and Artist Dates she suggests. New for we retirees are twice weekly solo walks and exercises for writing our Memoir. These activities help give us a structure for our life, something we recently had but now lack. They also stir up our creative juices.

I really like this book. Cameron has arranged it as a twelve week course. It is perfect for thinking through past dreams or aspirations and seeing if those ideas may be brought back to life. I love how she addresses the censor we all have. (“You're too old.” “You don't know how.”) She helps us establish a new routine and new relationships. We are asked to do some honest reflection on our life. She helps us deal with perfectionism and self-doubt. She has suggestions as to how we can bring joy and humor into our life. She even helps those of us who are experiencing pain, helping us redirect that pain to good energy. Cameron has included many inspiring stories, encouraging us to realize that there is a whole new and exciting life to live as we reach our senior years.

This book is a tool to change your life. Perhaps there is a lost passion or hobby you want to revisit. Perhaps you regret the career choice you made. “It's never too late to be a beginner,” Cameron writes. There are new classes to take, skills to learn, sights to see. Referring to Robert Frost's two roads that diverged, Cameron writes, “The beauty of retirement is that it provides us with the opportunity to travel back in time and explore the paths we didn't take.”

I highly recommend this book. If you're like me, you'll discover many ideas for filling up your retirement days.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

I am familiar with Julia Cameron mostly through her book The Right to Write. There, as here, I greatly appreciate her very practical and fun approach to writing. Though I am easily intimidated, Cameron takes all of the pressure off discovering your creativity. Her approach is to be creative simply because that's part of what we were born to do, regardless of what recognition we achieve. As a young person, this book did not apply to me as much as it would to someone past "midlife"--as the title indicates. This is because the book is structured into 12 lessons, each chapter asking questions that prompt an examination of a portion of your life. Dividing my years into 12 parts does not leave very large chunks to fodder the questions in each chapter. Otherwise, the creative life that Cameron teaches (such as taking artist dates, weekly solo walks, and morning pages) sounds like the ideal and is relevant to any age group. My implementation of morning pages (though I am a rebel and don't do them in the morning) has really de-stressed me and helped me process my life.

*ARC digital copy courtesy of Netgalley*

Julia Cameron’s “It's Never Too Late to Begin Again” is a 12-week course for those wanting to expand their creativity.

The book is specifically written for retirees, tackling the problems of the newly retired— having too much time, lacking structure in everyday life, and fearing the unknown. Julia encourages her students to use her creativity tools— Morning Pages, Artist Dates, Memoir and Solo Walks, to discover new interests and find direction.

Structured into 12 lessons, each chapter of the book asks probing questions that examine a certain period of your life. Each lesson guides you to deal with issues of self-doubt, inadequacy and perfectionism. And ultimately help you find passion and joy in living the senior life.

What I like best in this book are the amazing stories of Julia’s students, coming from diverse backgrounds, who have rediscovered a sense of purpose in their senior years with the use of Julia’s tools. Also, the quotes interspersed in the pages remind the reader that he is never alone in his quest for meaning in his remaining years.

While the book is aimed at retirees, I find that anyone seeking to find their creative self would benefit from reading and using the tools from this book.

“It's Never Too Late to Begin Again” gives hope and inspiration to readers to live a purposeful, joyful life.

Advance digital copy of this book was obtained from NetGalley.

When someone retires, the newfound freedom can be quite exciting, but also daunting. The life that someone had has changed, and the life to come is yet to be defined. In this book, Cameron shows readers how cultivating their creative selves can help them navigate this new terrain. She tells the inspiring stories of retirees who discovered new artistic pursuits and passions that more than filled their days—they nurtured their souls.
A twelve-week course aimed at defining—and creating—the life you want to have as you redefine—and re-create—yourself, this book includes simple tools that will guide and inspire you to make the most of this time in your life:
- Memoir writing offers an opportunity to reflect on—and honor—past experience. This book guides you through the daunting task of writing an entire memoir, breaking it down into manageable pieces.
- Morning Pages—private, stream-of-consciousness writing done daily—allow you to express wishes, fears, delights, resentments, and joys, which in turn, provide focus and clarity for the day at hand.
- Artist Dates encourage fun and spontaneity.
- Solo Walks quell anxiety and clear the mind.
This fun, gentle, step-by-step process will help you explore your creative dreams, wishes, and desires—and help you quickly find that it’s never too late to begin again.

A refreshing read. I like that the author doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the resistance that we can expect to encounter. With our own selves often making up excuses and reasons why this just won't work. I particularly like is the definition of "The Censor" a critic that doesn't have anything good to say about what we want or plan to do. Also a favorite in the information was the theme of recovering the wonder in life. recapturing your childlike wonder and joy in simple things. Not always having to be an expert on something. It was great to see something about how to make retirement a new adventure instead of stagnating because of age. Because like the author said, now you have time that you didn't have before, so that makes all the doorways of possibilities are open to you now. I liked how taking baby steps along the way, help you in the process of trying new things. We need to stop worrying about wasting time, its one of the things that will get in the way of finding our new directions in life. If we think we are wasting time on something, then it has no value to us and therefore, not worth anything. It becomes another excuse. The exercises that the author walks you through helps you to think outside of your "normal" boxes. She helps you to find where to direct your creative juices when you identify them. Bring the fun back into your life, it's not illegal. You don't have to earn it, find ways to laugh too. That's just a few of the simple steps but not it's not everything.
The reader has to remember that this a workbook as well and that it will take you through at least a twelve-week course, so it also is something to keep in your books, I can see where it could/would be used more than once. It had some really good interactive exercises.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a special book!

Full Disclosure: I recently interviewed Julia for our Inspire Nation Show

I got a LOT out of this book, most important though, was morning pages...expanding upon a ritual I try to do every day.

Morning pages is a way to tap into your creativity, inspiration, gut or higher self for guidance and direction.

There are so many great tips, tools, and stories in the book, but if we grasp this one concept and practice, I think it'll make a world of difference in our lives!

Julia Cameron's work is truly inspirational, and will light a fire under you to switch gears, begin anew, and follow your heart at any age!

A lively and extremely accessible foray into discovering new directions. I have been following this program and found it helpful. I found the practice of daily journaling already extremely helpful as a tool to contemplating changes of direction. I also found that I had to adjust my length of pages to fewer when I began. But to me that's ok because otherwise I might not have persevered.
This certainly offers ways to help me turn my energies in new directions. I am quite cross with myself that I didn't start reading it earlier. (But maybe I wasn't ready earlier.) In essence this is a twelve week course to help set you on a refocused path as you enter retirement. Determined to take advantage of the gift I've been handed, I am taking up the reigns of my life using this book as a guide post. 'Trusting my inner wisdom' is a good place to start.
I could have used this at an earlier stage of life, but 'it's never too late!'

A NetGalley ARC

I received a free electronic copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP TarcherPerigee.
This non-fiction work is typically destined for people who've retired and feel rather useless with regard to their daily activity or purpose in life. I started "It's Never Too Late to Begin Again" with the odd feeling that I was already retired and was somehow searching for meaning. Probably because I work from home, I managed to relate to all the pieces of advice belonging to Julia Cameron. I really can't recommend this book enough, particularly for people who have been struggling with their creativity levels. Honestly, it is never too late to begin anything, regardless of what other individuals around you might be telling you or advising you. I particularly liked the warm writing style of Julia Cameron's and the way she achieved some kind of closeness to the reader (and me included!) even though I had not read anything by her prior to having come across this book. *review posted on Goodreads, NetGalley and the store

I have read other books written by Julia Cameron and always found something to resonate with. But this one tops them all for me. Though I am still working, I find I am searching for that something more in my life. Julia provides real and spiritual and creative insights that she and others have found when they retire. But I think those insights apply at any time of life when you have forgotten who you really are. I plan on reading this again and now actually following her tasks. Thank you, Julia. This is just what I need now.

The author creates a nice process to unlock or discover your creative side but the examples and thoughts she uses to support this seemed very limited.

Many missed the mark or came up short for me as I moved through the steps

Great practical tips for figuring out who you are at your core after the life-shifting change of retirement. I'm not nearing retirement myself but I can see how these tools and exercises, with foundation in Cameron's The Artist's Way, will be useful in that circumstance. Additionally, Cameron's advice in this book is also practical for anyone who has had a huge change in their life and feels the need to examine the question, "Who am I now?" The stories of how others have used Cameron's practices are inspirational and geared toward keeping the reader on track. This book would make a great gift for someone on the cusp of retirement.

As expected from this author of this book delivers an exceptional pathway for exploring one's own thought processes and actions. She obviously understands the difficulty with harnessing one's own thoughts and turning them into actions that are life changing. Highly recommend this book.

Julia Cameron's first three books on creativity are classics. Unless you are coming to her work for the first time as a retiree or senior, I wouldn't recommend this one--Cameron's already told you what you need to know (many, many times).

I remember first reading Cameron's books a long time ago! I like that she gives guidelines and a template. It's funny I think of many if life's lessons in my sister in law as a cautionary tale-she's morbidly obese, very unhealthy and cut tues eith my husband after she stole a lot of money from him (which if she have back would start her healing and health process!). Her family are all overweight and sickly...whilst my husband has lost about 25 pounds, exercises every day( also on a softball team which is so cute) and stopped smoking-he still drinks! Having two teenagers I do too! We are together every day And have run a pretty successful practice for almost 20 years-spending virtually every moment together. Because he faced his life head on he is more healthy, energetic and full of creativity than he was when I met him 25 years ago! We both strive for the creatively lived life which has had its ups and downs but has engendered integrity. He and his sister have gone in very different directions but came from the same place. It's love and living life fully and honestly which creates health, real love-which comes from yourself and us impossible when you steal from x brother who his whole life loved and supported you-that's growth and I hope some day for her life she can feel safe enough to give back what she took in a moment of self doubt.