Seasons of Life

Synopsis: In the light both of the Bible and of modern science we are confronted not with an abstract and generalized man, but with men who are concrete and personal. They are always changing. They are always in their context, in a certain relationship to the world, to others, and to God.

It is in this life story that God's plan may be accomplished. This changing is made up of seasons, stages in their lives, each of which has its own characteristics and peculiar laws. This is what is intimated by the title The Seasons of Life: a man in movement, continually undergoing change, a man living in history, unfolding from his birth until his death.

The very movement implies meaning in life. Endorsements: "This public lecture of Paul Tournier shows his particular brilliance as a communicator. Here he draws on conversations with his wife, his patients, and his friends to give the reader his own credo, 'It is the whole of life that we embrace in one look (encounter with God) and that already is overflowing into resurrection.'" --John Cox, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Keele University, and former Secretary General of the World Psychiatric Association.

Author Biography: Paul Tournier (1898-1986) was a general practitioner in Geneva and also an active Christian. In 1940, he published his first book, La Médecine de la Personne, later translated into English as The Healing of Persons. He changed his medical practice by taking most of his time for listening and talking to his patients, not only considering the physical dimension of their being but also the psychological and spiritual dimensions.

In 1947, he founded the International Group of Medicine of the Person. He wrote many books which were widely received throughout the world and were translated into more than thirty languages.