In this impressively researched and incisive book, Bruce Grierson draws on over three hundred stories of so-called "U-turners," who have risked their livelihoods to answer a sudden wake-up call. We meet people who change political parties and careers, doctors who quit to become poets, men who become women, people who suddenly become revolutionaries for a cause they didn't care about the day before. In chapters that address everything from the neuroscience behind epiphanies to the possibility of "forcing" a U-turn, Grierson brilliantly describes and elucidates this powerful, mysterious phenomenon, and in doing so illuminates all of our continual struggles with life choices and identity. PRAISE: "Once a staple of the American Dream, change and rebirth are increasingly derided as dangerous or silly, a manifestation of a life "crisis." In his fascinating, balanced, thoroughly researched and readable look at the "U-Turn," Bruce Grierson gives this phenomenon its due. His view of the "wake-up call" as the secular equivalent of the religious epiphany is brilliant. U-turns are not always good or beneficial, but almost always significant, frequently life-altering. This book is essential for anyone contemplating meaningful change." -Jon Katz, author of Running to the Mountain and A Good Dog "U-Turn is a very smart, grounded, wise, well-written and important book. Using compelling human-scale stories, Bruce Grierson explores the dynamics involved in making major life-changes. The result is not only a fascinating study of other people's lives. Here is a map that offers guidance to anyone tempted to take a detour en route to who-knows-where."-Parker J. Palmer, author of A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach "Grierson has pulled together a remarkable collection of tales of dramatic personal transformation, in which people appear to make sudden u-turns in their lives. These myste Read this book for the tales it tells, for the inspiration it imparts, or for the knowledge it so generously gives.-Lauren Slater, author of Welcome to My Country