How to Be an Adult

Psychological and spiritual adulthood does not come automatically with age. It requires ongoing and ardent work on ourselves. It involves articulating our own truth and acting in accord with its challenges. In this best-selling work, David Richo provides a handbook for achieving psychological and spiritual health. Based on his many years' experience as a psychotherapist and workshop leader, the author uses the metaphor of the heroic journey, whose three phases—departure, struggle, and return—explain what happens in us as we evolve from neurotic ego through healthy ego to the spiritual self. First, he discusses the three challenges to adulthood: fear, anger, and guilt, as well as the self-esteem that comes from meeting those challenges. Then he discusses the dual problem of maintaining personal boundaries and establishing appropriate intimacy. Finally, he discusses the techniques of integration and the return to wholeness and love. How to Be an Adult is a thoughtful, accessible guide filled with useful quotations and reflections for meditation, as well as other techniques and concrete advice on the process of growth. The new appendix provides readers with practical ways to show integrity and loving-kindness.