---
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title: "The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (STUDIES IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY BY JUNGIAN ANALYSTS)"
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# The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (STUDIES IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY BY JUNGIAN ANALYSTS)

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The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (STUDIES IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY BY JUNGIAN ANALYSTS) [Hollis, James] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (STUDIES IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY BY JUNGIAN ANALYSTS)

Review: Recommended Challenge for Greater consciousness & Individuation at Midlife - The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts; 59 by James Hollis, PhD was published in 1993 and is his first contribution to the series. The "Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts" is a wonderful series published by Inner City Books with Daryl Sharp as founder and chief editor (himself an accomplished Jungian Analyst and writer). Marie-Louise von Franz is their Honorary Patron with 9 of her classic titles in the offerings. The publisher's charter was "...founded in 1980 to promote the understanding and practical application of the work of C.G. Jung. " Since then they've published over 110 titles in this series with other prolific Jungian authors such as Barbara Hannah, Edward Edinger, and Marion Woodman to name a few. Hollis is a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst practicing out of Texas where he is also the Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center of Houston. He's contributed 8 titles to the Studies in Jungian Psychology series himself. His most recent book (from a different publisher) titled: "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life - How to Finally, Really Grow Up" is receiving critical acclaim as well. Incidentally, the author and I recently shared some correspondence and I found him to be warm, helpful, responsive and thoughtful. The audio version of The Middle Passage is unabridged on 4 CD's with the author narrating in a calm, clear, and agreeable tone of voice with an elegant economy and effectiveness of words. I own a treasured, well-worn print copy of the 128-page book that is liberally underlined, dog-eared, and grossly highlighted. Whether reading the book or listening to the author narrate, I am nearly overwhelmed at the compactness of meaning in his tightly composed sentences. This sense of being overwhelmed is most assuredly not a bad thing - it's a welcome invitation for re-listening to the audio book during my daily commute (a 95 mile round trip to work and home in southern California traffic gives nearly two hours of listening time!). Plus I get opportunities to reread the printed book as time permits as I have a new addition to the family - this equates to sleepless nights with our newborn baby boy... Anyhow, it's a real pleasure opening this book and unpacking the riches within - and treasures they are! I reach into the bag and there are the gems, the gold in the content - but it's packed so tightly as to need diligent & mindful mining. I unpack the words, the sentences, and paragraphs and air them out, taking the concepts down different avenues of thought to glean new insights into the character of my self. I can't tell you the number times I've had "AHA!" moments - or the sublime experience where some subtle material gestated over time, gelling into meaningful mini-epiphanies. I can't tell you because it won't stop! A most gratifying experience! I have only one minor criticism of this great contribution to Jungian analysis/literature. I can imagine some people possibly being turned off by the author's complex wording which might appear a bit pedantic on the surface. Some of the arguably abstract/esoteric language is not common to a layman's lexis yet they pose a rewarding challenge for the diligent reader. Here's a sample of random rarified words & phrases for example: existential angst, imagos, ineluctable dialectic, the modern Zeitgeist, politic real, portmanteau and (ready?) Jung's awesome word Auseinandersetzung. I've had to grant myself a little time adjusting to his rich vocabulary. Nevertheless it is a cogent, logical and lucid narrative where Hollis carefully defines his terms in the context of recognized Jungian terminology. Hollis uses an abundance of prominent literary and historical figures including Christ, Dante, Stephen Dunn, T.S. Eliot, Nikos Kazantzakis, Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, Dylan Thomas, St. Thomas, Thoreau, Yeats, and C.G. Jung is well deployed throughout the text. A two-part bibliography gives a listing of select publications segregated by major categories such as: On Midlife, On Women, On Men, On Relationship, Typology, and Inner Work. The other half is a General Bibliography providing a comprehensive list of his sources cited. It also has a pretty good index. Generous footnotes throughout the pages helpfully clarify certain points and direct the reader to relevant sources. Characteristic of Hollis' Socratic bent, "Who am I apart from the roles I have played?" (from the preface) is the first of many questions posed in Middle Passage. The following passages from the preface effectively capture critical sentiment worth reflection: "Many of us pass through life as if it were a novel. We pass from page to page passively, assuming the author will tell us on the last page what it was all about...on the last page we die, with or without illumination." Hollis tells us "The invitation of the Middle passage is to become conscious, accept responsibility for the rest of the pages and risk the largeness of life to which we are summoned." In the first chapter, "The Provisional Personality", he uses the language of Jungian principles to reveal the genesis and evolution of childhood wounding resulting from internalized interpretations of adult conflict (particularly with respect to parental and cultural influences) and the subsequent development of unconscious complexes. He tells us "...the person one has been is to be replaced by the person to be...One is summoned, psychologically, to die unto the old self so that the new might be born." He concludes the chapter with "...the Middle Passage represents a summons from within to move from the provisional life to true adulthood, from the false self to authenticity." Making a comprehensive review of the rest of the book would prove too lengthy; however I've listed the remaining chapters below and will conclude with a review of one last chapter after the list: Chapter 2 - The Advent of the Middle Passage Tectonic Pressures and Seismic Intimations A New Kind of Thinking Changes in Identity Withdrawal of Projections Changes in the Body and Sense of Time The Diminution of Hope The Experience of Neurosis Chapter 3: The Turn Within The Persona-Shadow Dialogue Relationship Problems Midlife Affairs From Child to Parent to Child The World of Work: Job Versus Vocation Emergence of the Inferior Function Shadow Invasions Chapter 4: Case Studies in Literature (see below) Chapter 5: Individuation: Jung's Myth for Our Time Chapter 6: On the High Seas and Alone From Loneliness to Solitude Connecting with the Lost Child The Passionate Life The Swamplands of the Soul The Great Dialectic Momento Mori This Luminous Pause One chapter in particular has grown on me: in Case Studies in Literature Hollis explores and illuminates new perspectives into the shadow with fascinating analysis of some classic, well recognized literary works. In Goethe's Faust, "Mephistopheles describes the shadow as that part of the whole, neglected and suppressed, which is necessary for the dialectic that ultimately brings wholeness." And for our protagonist, "The central encounter which Faust suffers is the overdue meeting with his anima..." Next, we're treated to obvious projections Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The resulting sense of urgency from Faust and Emma's unlived lives causes them to make bad tragically bad choices. "They project their inner contrasexual onto an outer person, not realizing that what they seek is ultimately within." Dostoevsky's Underground Man "...takes us into the belly of the beast." and "...represents a profoundly searing encounter with the shadow." making conscious "...what all of us do in the first adulthood, namely, react to life's wounds. We build a set of wound-based behaviors and live out our handicapped version with rationalizations and self-justification." Works from three American poets, Hugo Richard, Theodore Roethke, and Diane Wakoski are shared representing "...self-conscious efforts to rework one's personal myth." and identify our biographies as "...traps, deceptive enticements that freeze us in the seemingly facticity of the past, wound-identified and creatures of fate." I end this quote-labored review with an invitation Hollis gives at the end of the same chapter, "In the secret club of the Middle Passage, there is an invitation for greater consciousness and an enlarged capacity for choice. With greater consciousness comes a greater opportunity for forgiveness of others and of ourselves, and, with forgiveness, release from the past." Finally, a grand imperative: "We must address the making of our myths more consciously or we shall never be more than the sum of what has happened to us." I highly recommended this book for the challenge it offers the welcoming soul. IndiAndy
Review: A spiritual guide for the midlife journey! - One of the most enlightening books I've ever read! James Hollis is a Jungian psychologist and Psychoanalyst. He makes lucid, the process of individuation as the key to growth. Many of us suffering through a midlife crisis have no idea why we are feeling the way we feel or doing the things we do. For most people, the trauma of past events and loss of our true selves lies deeply embedded in the subconscious. At midlife these traumas may rise to the surface demand to be integrated into consciousness . If not we can pay a heavy price through anxiety, depression, and irrational actions. Marriages, families, and personal lives are torn apart when we don't grapple with and pursue the individuation process. At only 115 pages long the author makes every word count. I must admit that some parts were very painful and difficult to get through but it is well worth the effort!!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #47,991 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #16 in Midlife Self-Help #46 in Popular Psychology Psychoanalysis #802 in Personal Transformation Self-Help |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (369) |
| Dimensions  | 5.88 x 0.29 x 8.63 inches |
| Edition  | First Editiion |
| ISBN-10  | 0919123600 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0919123601 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 128 pages |
| Publication date  | January 1, 1993 |
| Publisher  | Inner City Books |
| Reading age  | 16 years and up |

## Images

![The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (STUDIES IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY BY JUNGIAN ANALYSTS) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71V7nNq3T5L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Recommended Challenge for Greater consciousness & Individuation at Midlife
*by H***L on August 14, 2005*

The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts; 59 by James Hollis, PhD was published in 1993 and is his first contribution to the series. The "Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts" is a wonderful series published by Inner City Books with Daryl Sharp as founder and chief editor (himself an accomplished Jungian Analyst and writer). Marie-Louise von Franz is their Honorary Patron with 9 of her classic titles in the offerings. The publisher's charter was "...founded in 1980 to promote the understanding and practical application of the work of C.G. Jung. " Since then they've published over 110 titles in this series with other prolific Jungian authors such as Barbara Hannah, Edward Edinger, and Marion Woodman to name a few. Hollis is a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst practicing out of Texas where he is also the Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center of Houston. He's contributed 8 titles to the Studies in Jungian Psychology series himself. His most recent book (from a different publisher) titled: "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life - How to Finally, Really Grow Up" is receiving critical acclaim as well. Incidentally, the author and I recently shared some correspondence and I found him to be warm, helpful, responsive and thoughtful. The audio version of The Middle Passage is unabridged on 4 CD's with the author narrating in a calm, clear, and agreeable tone of voice with an elegant economy and effectiveness of words. I own a treasured, well-worn print copy of the 128-page book that is liberally underlined, dog-eared, and grossly highlighted. Whether reading the book or listening to the author narrate, I am nearly overwhelmed at the compactness of meaning in his tightly composed sentences. This sense of being overwhelmed is most assuredly not a bad thing - it's a welcome invitation for re-listening to the audio book during my daily commute (a 95 mile round trip to work and home in southern California traffic gives nearly two hours of listening time!). Plus I get opportunities to reread the printed book as time permits as I have a new addition to the family - this equates to sleepless nights with our newborn baby boy... Anyhow, it's a real pleasure opening this book and unpacking the riches within - and treasures they are! I reach into the bag and there are the gems, the gold in the content - but it's packed so tightly as to need diligent & mindful mining. I unpack the words, the sentences, and paragraphs and air them out, taking the concepts down different avenues of thought to glean new insights into the character of my self. I can't tell you the number times I've had "AHA!" moments - or the sublime experience where some subtle material gestated over time, gelling into meaningful mini-epiphanies. I can't tell you because it won't stop! A most gratifying experience! I have only one minor criticism of this great contribution to Jungian analysis/literature. I can imagine some people possibly being turned off by the author's complex wording which might appear a bit pedantic on the surface. Some of the arguably abstract/esoteric language is not common to a layman's lexis yet they pose a rewarding challenge for the diligent reader. Here's a sample of random rarified words & phrases for example: existential angst, imagos, ineluctable dialectic, the modern Zeitgeist, politic real, portmanteau and (ready?) Jung's awesome word Auseinandersetzung. I've had to grant myself a little time adjusting to his rich vocabulary. Nevertheless it is a cogent, logical and lucid narrative where Hollis carefully defines his terms in the context of recognized Jungian terminology. Hollis uses an abundance of prominent literary and historical figures including Christ, Dante, Stephen Dunn, T.S. Eliot, Nikos Kazantzakis, Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, Dylan Thomas, St. Thomas, Thoreau, Yeats, and C.G. Jung is well deployed throughout the text. A two-part bibliography gives a listing of select publications segregated by major categories such as: On Midlife, On Women, On Men, On Relationship, Typology, and Inner Work. The other half is a General Bibliography providing a comprehensive list of his sources cited. It also has a pretty good index. Generous footnotes throughout the pages helpfully clarify certain points and direct the reader to relevant sources. Characteristic of Hollis' Socratic bent, "Who am I apart from the roles I have played?" (from the preface) is the first of many questions posed in Middle Passage. The following passages from the preface effectively capture critical sentiment worth reflection: "Many of us pass through life as if it were a novel. We pass from page to page passively, assuming the author will tell us on the last page what it was all about...on the last page we die, with or without illumination." Hollis tells us "The invitation of the Middle passage is to become conscious, accept responsibility for the rest of the pages and risk the largeness of life to which we are summoned." In the first chapter, "The Provisional Personality", he uses the language of Jungian principles to reveal the genesis and evolution of childhood wounding resulting from internalized interpretations of adult conflict (particularly with respect to parental and cultural influences) and the subsequent development of unconscious complexes. He tells us "...the person one has been is to be replaced by the person to be...One is summoned, psychologically, to die unto the old self so that the new might be born." He concludes the chapter with "...the Middle Passage represents a summons from within to move from the provisional life to true adulthood, from the false self to authenticity." Making a comprehensive review of the rest of the book would prove too lengthy; however I've listed the remaining chapters below and will conclude with a review of one last chapter after the list: Chapter 2 - The Advent of the Middle Passage Tectonic Pressures and Seismic Intimations A New Kind of Thinking Changes in Identity Withdrawal of Projections Changes in the Body and Sense of Time The Diminution of Hope The Experience of Neurosis Chapter 3: The Turn Within The Persona-Shadow Dialogue Relationship Problems Midlife Affairs From Child to Parent to Child The World of Work: Job Versus Vocation Emergence of the Inferior Function Shadow Invasions Chapter 4: Case Studies in Literature (see below) Chapter 5: Individuation: Jung's Myth for Our Time Chapter 6: On the High Seas and Alone From Loneliness to Solitude Connecting with the Lost Child The Passionate Life The Swamplands of the Soul The Great Dialectic Momento Mori This Luminous Pause One chapter in particular has grown on me: in Case Studies in Literature Hollis explores and illuminates new perspectives into the shadow with fascinating analysis of some classic, well recognized literary works. In Goethe's Faust, "Mephistopheles describes the shadow as that part of the whole, neglected and suppressed, which is necessary for the dialectic that ultimately brings wholeness." And for our protagonist, "The central encounter which Faust suffers is the overdue meeting with his anima..." Next, we're treated to obvious projections Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The resulting sense of urgency from Faust and Emma's unlived lives causes them to make bad tragically bad choices. "They project their inner contrasexual onto an outer person, not realizing that what they seek is ultimately within." Dostoevsky's Underground Man "...takes us into the belly of the beast." and "...represents a profoundly searing encounter with the shadow." making conscious "...what all of us do in the first adulthood, namely, react to life's wounds. We build a set of wound-based behaviors and live out our handicapped version with rationalizations and self-justification." Works from three American poets, Hugo Richard, Theodore Roethke, and Diane Wakoski are shared representing "...self-conscious efforts to rework one's personal myth." and identify our biographies as "...traps, deceptive enticements that freeze us in the seemingly facticity of the past, wound-identified and creatures of fate." I end this quote-labored review with an invitation Hollis gives at the end of the same chapter, "In the secret club of the Middle Passage, there is an invitation for greater consciousness and an enlarged capacity for choice. With greater consciousness comes a greater opportunity for forgiveness of others and of ourselves, and, with forgiveness, release from the past." Finally, a grand imperative: "We must address the making of our myths more consciously or we shall never be more than the sum of what has happened to us." I highly recommended this book for the challenge it offers the welcoming soul. IndiAndy

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A spiritual guide for the midlife journey!
*by D***A on May 6, 2025*

One of the most enlightening books I've ever read! James Hollis is a Jungian psychologist and Psychoanalyst. He makes lucid, the process of individuation as the key to growth. Many of us suffering through a midlife crisis have no idea why we are feeling the way we feel or doing the things we do. For most people, the trauma of past events and loss of our true selves lies deeply embedded in the subconscious. At midlife these traumas may rise to the surface demand to be integrated into consciousness . If not we can pay a heavy price through anxiety, depression, and irrational actions. Marriages, families, and personal lives are torn apart when we don't grapple with and pursue the individuation process. At only 115 pages long the author makes every word count. I must admit that some parts were very painful and difficult to get through but it is well worth the effort!!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow, just wonderful.
*by R***R on December 10, 2024*

I thought this book was just fantastic. If you're thinking about it, just do it, at the very least there should be more copies of this floating around the world.

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