Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart

Dr Gordon Livingston has been a psychiatrist since the 1960s, and has heard from his patients the whole spectrum of those things in life that work and that don't work - and the limitless ways in which we are capable of inflicting unhappiness on ourselves. Out of this lifetime of experience he has extracted thirty bedrock truths, amongst them 'We are what we do', 'Only bad things happen quickly', 'We are afraid of the wrong things' and 'Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid'. Gordon believes that we all have a wonderful capacity to face loss, misfortune and regret, and that it is never too late to move beyond them and find greater happiness. This profound and incisive book of collected wisdoms and deceptively simple truths will encourage and inspire you to seek and recognise the best in your life - to realise that it is never too late to find your greatest happiness, and how to go about it.

Dr Gordon Livingston has been a psychiatrist since the 1960s, and has heard from his patients the whole spectrum of those things in life that work and that don't work - and the limitless ways in which we are capable of inflicting unhappiness on ourselves. Out of this lifetime of experience he has extracted thirty bedrock truths, amongst them 'We are what we do', 'Only bad things happen quickly', 'We are afraid of the wrong things' and 'Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid'. Gordon believes that we all have a wonderful capacity to face loss, misfortune and regret, and that it is never too late to move beyond them and find greater happiness. This profound and incisive book of collected wisdoms and deceptively simple truths will encourage and inspire you to seek and recognise the best in your life - to realise that it is never too late to find your greatest happiness, and how to go about it.

After service in Vietnam, as a surgeon for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1968-69, at the height of the war, Dr. Gordon Livingston returned to the U.S. and began work as a psychiatrist. In that capacity, he has listened to people talk about their lives-what works, what doesn't, and the limitless ways (many of them self-inflicted) that people find to be unhappy. He is also a parent twice bereaved in one thirteen-month period, he lost his eldest son to suicide, his youngest to leukemia. Out of a lifetime of experience, Gordon Livingston has extracted thirty bedrock truths: We are what we do. Any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Only bad things happen quickly. Forgiveness is a form of letting go, but they are not the same thing. The statute of limitations has expired on most of our childhood traumas. Livingston illuminates these and twenty-four others in a series of carefully hewn, perfectly calibrated essays, many of which focus on our closest relationships and the things that we do to impede or, less frequently, enhance them. Again and again, these essays underscore that we are what we do," and that while there may be no escaping who we are, we have the capacity to face loss, misfortune, and regret and to move beyond them-that it is not too late. Full of things we may know but have not articulated to ourselves, Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart offers solace, guidance, and hope to everyone ready to become the person they'd most like to be.

After service in Vietnam, as a surgeon for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1968-69, at the height of the war, Dr. Gordon Livingston returned to the U.S. and began work as a psychiatrist. In that capacity, he has listened to people talk about their lives-what works, what doesn't, and the limitless ways (many of them self-inflicted) that people find to be unhappy. He is also a parent twice bereaved in one thirteen-month period, he lost his eldest son to suicide, his youngest to leukemia. Out of a lifetime of experience, Gordon Livingston has extracted thirty bedrock truths: We are what we do. Any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Only bad things happen quickly. Forgiveness is a form of letting go, but they are not the same thing. The statute of limitations has expired on most of our childhood traumas. Livingston illuminates these and twenty-four others in a series of carefully hewn, perfectly calibrated essays, many of which focus on our closest relationships and the things that we do to impede or, less frequently, enhance them. Again and again, these essays underscore that we are what we do," and that while there may be no escaping who we are, we have the capacity to face loss, misfortune, and regret and to move beyond them-that it is not too late. Full of things we may know but have not articulated to ourselves, Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart offers solace, guidance, and hope to everyone ready to become the person they'd most like to be.