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Midlife and the Great Unknown
- Narrated by: David Whyte
- Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins
- Categories: Relationships, Parenting & Personal Development, Parenting & Families
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Publisher's Summary
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:
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.
What listeners say about Midlife and the Great Unknown
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jon D.
- 01-03-19
life changing, only wish there was a print version
life changing, only wish there was a print version as there are so many insights to be taken from this. i will be listening again and again
3 people found this helpful
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- Katherine
- 01-21-13
Favorite long drive CD
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.
3 people found this helpful
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- Michael Ticherich
- 01-08-19
answers to questions I didn't know I had
I've heard some of the things he talks about in other places. this book brings those things back to mind in an engaging and fresh way.
2 people found this helpful
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- geakerson
- 08-18-18
A Must Listen
Listen to this book now if you’re anywhere in the middle of life and beyond. It’s beauty and depth is unspeakable.
2 people found this helpful
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- Leah D. Schade
- 01-03-18
Another soul-nurturing book by David Whyte
One of my favorite poets. My go-to for spiritual insights and for "filling the well."
2 people found this helpful
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- Martha
- 10-19-17
I love this book with all my heart
I carry it with me and listen at least a couple times a year. The poetry and wisdom resonate and stay with you and help the heart to face its frontiers.
2 people found this helpful
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- JCWC
- 09-18-18
Extraordinary
What a fantastic book. I can listen to David’s voice all day everyday and the lessons, the poems, the friends and teachers you find in this book thru David’s light. Magnificent.
1 person found this helpful
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- Elizabeth Balcer
- 06-29-18
fabulous and relevent!
whyte is an expert at bringing in voices from generations past and weaving them in to a story that it relevent to the present.
1 person found this helpful
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- Daniel Villella
- 09-08-20
Listen again and again
“Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura”
When I find myself disoriented, this helps to re-orient me. Thank you David.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-25-20
beautiful and inspiring- highly recommend
this is a book that inspires even around such a topic - it is a beautiful and worthy read for anyone at this stage of their lives.
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- Harold Hughes
- 05-13-16
Disappointing
David Whyte is amazing and what he has to say is wonderful. Unfortunately the content of this book is word for word included in Clear Mind Wild Heart which I have already purchased and enjoyed very much. I will be returning this for a refund. It would help to make this clear before purchase.
2 people found this helpful
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- Katherine Jasven
- 10-16-19
Life changing
I listen to this book over and over and over, without tiring of it, each time learning a new way of being or altering my perspective on life. I recommend it to everyone I know and will continue to do so. I am so grateful to my dear friend who shared it with me and to Mr Whyte for the authoring such beautiful, life-changing poetry and prose.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-08-19
Joyous words from a wondrous poet
This is a truly marvellous package from a wonderful man. His insights into the human condition coupled with his wonderful reading style (those repetitions!) of his, and others poems, make for something truly revelatory. I like the relatively short running time as it can listened to in its entirety again and again. Just like a good film. Revealing more and more of its depth and true awakened insight on subsequent listens. Revelatory.
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- Heidi Marke
- 12-03-18
Wow.
Wow. Now I get poetry. Deep nourishment. Thank you so much for writing this. Have started to read a few lines a day, as suggested.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-29-16
love it
love David's work yet this overlaps with much of his calm mind wild heart audiobook
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- Anonymous User
- 10-16-18
Stunning
As always, David leads us into the exquisite depths of what it means to be human.
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- mark devan
- 09-15-18
Simply brilliant work!
Insightful and practical wisdom for midlife delivered through poetry by David Whyte. I really enjoyed it and felt it was written just for me. Will be listening to this it again and again.
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- john
- 06-10-16
Poetry and wisdom
I can recommend for anyone to take some time out and listen to David Whyte. Thanks.