Making Transitions Work: Navigating the Changes. . - book review

Adolescence, Fall, 2001

DONALDSON, E. Lisbeth, HIEBERT, Bryan. PYRYT, Michael, & ARTHUR, Nancy. Making Transitions Work: Navigating the Changes. Calgary, Canada: Detselig Enterprises (distributed by Temeron Books), 1998. 184pp. $22.95 (p).

The focus of this book is on how 15-30-year-old young people might learn to cope better with important life transitions. Readers will identify with parts of every chapter, perhaps gleaning understanding about how to advise young people or to contextualize their own transitions. Given the high profile that transition problems have been allotted during the past two decades, the intent is to stimulate discussion about larger contexts that shape the need for programs and policies. It is time to move beyond a crisis perspective, to build paradigms that accept these transitions as normal and to learn how to make them "work" for both individuals and society. The contents of these chapters sometimes evolved from interdisciplinary collaboration and sometimes are based on insights derived from patient years of data analysis. Chapter 1 sketches the context of change for today's youth. In Chapter 2 the focus is on cross-cultural transitions and trends associated with increasing globalization. Chapter 3 identifies skills that assist in the navigation of life transitions. Chapter 4 discusses school-to-work matches and mismatches. Chapter 5 indicates how career and self-development are inextricably linked. Chapter 6 is an argument for anticipating milestone transitions. Chapter 7 profiles the stories of people who have experienced successful transitions. Chapter 8 forecasts the future, outlining millennial trends.