Midlife and the Great Unknown Audiobook By David Whyte cover art

Midlife and the Great Unknown

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Midlife and the Great Unknown

By: David Whyte
Narrated by: David Whyte
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.47

Buy for $17.47

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
"In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in a dark wood, where the true way was wholly lost."

When you find yourself suddenly without bearings, as Dante Alighieri voiced so well centuries ago, where will you look for guidance? Throughout the ages, teaches David Whyte, the language of poetry has held a special power to hazard ourselves boldly at the "fierce edges" of our lives.

On Midlife and the Great Unknown, you will engage with poetic imagination as it was meant to be experienced: as your companion and guide for the challenging terrain of midlife. Join this Yorkshire-born poet and bestselling author to explore:

  • "Radical simplification": an invitation to sit in silent reflection and observation
  • Using your poetic imagination to navigate life's cycles of loss and joy
  • Honoring who you are right now, including your skills and limitations, and more

    The language of poetry can "emancipate" you into the next phase of your existence, teaches David Whyte. It can help you break through obstacles and give you courage to take necessary risks. Drawing from the wisdom of fellow poets Rainer Maria Rilke, Emily Dickinson, and Seamus Heaney, Whyte invites you to boldly engage in a conversation with the second half of your life on Midlife and the Great Unknown.

    • ©2003 David Whyte (P)2008 Sounds True     Aging Parents Creativity Parenting & Families Personal Development Relationships Inspiring
    Profound Wisdom • Poetic Storytelling • Resonant Narration • Transformative Insights • Meditative Experience
    Highly rated for:
    All stars
    Most relevant  
    I am so grateful I found David Whyte, a deeply talented and profound observer and orator.

    Beautiful, Eloquent, Powerful.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    “You realize what you learn you have lost in the fact of a person dying is you’ve lost what they loved and everything else is like chaff that is blown away. That the summation of a person’s life is the sum of what they held in their affections.”

    This made me think of my priorities and what I hold in my affections. Major wake up call!

    What You Miss(ed)

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    This is the first time I’ve listened to a book on this app... I loved it and buy books through this. I had a friend share a book with me for and I’ve already shred books to my friends.

    It’s great

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    There are many pearls of wisdom in this work by David, and it was thought-provoking all the way through. I heard him speak last year at an event, and this audio book was just like being there with him. Highly recommended.

    More wisdom from David Whyte

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    David Whyte has the most uncanny ability to touch one's soul with the sound of his voice. He delves so perfectly into our common human struggle. This book exemplifies his ability to combine poetry and stories to highlight the joy, pain and struggle of mid age.

    David Whyte never ceases to stir the soul

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    Combination of author’s voice, his poetry, the stories behind their creation, and the depth of Whyte’s wisdom, makes this a book I will return to again and again. Highly recommended.

    Beautiful

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    will listen again... and again. found by accident. such a gift. don't typically write reviews.

    exquisite

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    I read this after reading the three marriages. The conversational style of this audio book made for a deeply meditative experience.

    Both illuminating and comforting

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    David Whyte shared his own poetry and classic works of other poetry which spoke into his life. His words and insights were grounding and wise. This work helped me to put my life journey into a larger context. I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to reflect on their lives and open to new possibilities.

    Context

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    Would you listen to Midlife and the Great Unknown again? Why?

    I do listen to it again and again and find new aspects of David's narrative every time I listen to it again.

    What did you like best about this story?

    I first met David Whyte at a CEO Roundtable retreat in Boston 3-4 years ago and immediately afterwards got this CD (this was before I was a member of Audible) and all his books. It's the kind of poetry and narrative that you cannot read as a "gulp" but need to read 1-2 poems a day or when the mood strikes and think about it. Sometimes I open the book randomly and read a poem. I have favorites and re-read them periodically. David's way with words is so unusual, eloquent and at the same time eloquent not in a sense of futile fancifulness, but able to express deep feelings in very few carefully chosen and positioned words. Nothing to add, nothing to trip. Perfect expression of one man's feelings at one particular moment.

    What does David Whyte bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

    David reads his (and other poets') poetry in a very special way: the way he uses pauses and repeats some lines makes poems "penetrate" you with a special force. I probably would not have understood all of his poetry had I not first met David Whyte in person and heard him read his poems.

    What insight do you think you’ll apply from Midlife and the Great Unknown?

    Too many to list, but main one is "being on the frontier" where we all are every day and every moment of our lives and how we deal with this frontier: before making first step into scary unknown, it is best to first find the ground on which you stand. Finding that foundation is what many people spend lifetime doing. It is right there, otherwise you would not exist - and yet it takes deliberate attention to really know what it is.

    Favorite long drive CD

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
    See more reviews