In the Middle of This Road We Call Our Life

In the Middle of This Road We Call Our Life – James W. Jones

Today many of us take to therapists the problems we once took to priests, rabbis and ministers. But what if psychology alone is not enough?

In the Middle of This Road We Call Our Life, by James W. Jones, a professor of religion and practising psychotherapist, explores a need that lies beneath many of our personal struggles: the longing to connect, with our true selves and with others, and to find real meaning in our lives. Jones argues that satisfying this longing for meaning, intimacy and connection is vital to our happiness and well-being, and that our personal and psychotherapeutic struggles often require a spiritual answer.

Drawing on real-life case histories from his practice, Jones interweaves his reflections with the stories of people facing issues that concern us all, from understanding relationship patterns and finding meaning in work to overcoming compulsive patterns of behaviour. Along the way, he reveals the linked factors that keep us from intimacy and spiritual experience, and explores ways to rediscover both.

The book is part of a wider dialogue between psychology and religion, and reflects how many therapists have begun to see spiritual experience as potentially healthy rather than as a symptom to be treated. Daniel Goleman, writing in the New York Times, called it “a spiritual parable for our times.”

Compassionate and insightful, it is ideal for readers of The Road Less Travelled and Care of the Soul, for therapists and counsellors, and for anyone searching for deeper meaning and connection in their life.