The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom

by Angeles Arrien

"There is a grace in this book, an invitation to beautiful, deep wisdom, a banquet to refresh your spirit for the years ahead."—Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., author of A Path with Heart

"The Second Half of Life is a wise, unique, and beautifully written guidebook for those who want to live every day of their lives. A book for everyone who plans to grow old."—Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings

When you find the courage to change at midlife," Angeles Arrien teaches, "a miracle happens."

Your character is opened, deepened, strengthened, softened. You return to your soul's highest values. You are now prepared to create your legacy: an imprint of your dream for our world—a dream that can fully come true in The Second Half of Life.

Working with images, poetry, metaphors, and other forms of symbolic language from diverse world cultures, Dr. Arrien introduces us to the Eight Gates of Initiation. By mastering their lessons and gifts, you harvest the meaning and purpose of your life, and come into spiritual maturity. With The Second Half of Life, she takes you step-by-step through each gate to deepen your most valuable relationships, reclaim your untended creative talents, and shift your focus from ambition to meaning to grow into the exceptional elder you've always imagined you would one day become.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Spirituality, Philosophy, Psychology, Personal Development, Aging

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work is currently used in medical, academic, and corporate environments. She is the President of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education and Research. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages and she has received three honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of her work.

Reviews

[Zinta]

There is nothing new in Angeles Arrien's book about the second half of life. Indeed, there isn't meant to be. Our lives at midpoint are about putting aside newness and embracing the ancient, the everlasting, the always true.

We live in an age that worships youth. Alongside this naive, if not indeed tragic pursuit to resist aging in all its aspects, we find ourselves as a society becoming ever more superficial, ever more devoted to what is external only, short on endurance, shallow in meaning. Small wonder so many of us approach midlife in a state of "crisis."

Yet there is no crisis. Arrien reminds us, by assembling in this collection of eight chapters named for eight gates, that this is not a time in our lives to resist or fear, but that it is, in fact, a time of wonder and beauty -- of the deeper and more meaningful kind. To pass through each of these "gates" is to be opened and enriched by the enlightenment of the second half of our lives. In each chapter, Arrien has brought together age-old quotes and wisdom from many different cultures, tested by time and place. Each chapter describes the gate through which we must pass, the task we must undertake to do so, the challenge, the gift we receive if we meet the challenge, reflections that help us to understand more fully this threshold, a list of practices to make this gateway a discipline.

The gates: silver (facing the new and the unknown); white picket (discovering one's true face); clay (intimacy, sensuality, sexuality); black and white (relationships and the crucible of love); rustic (creativity and service); bone (authenticity, character, and wisdom); natural (happiness, satisfaction, and peace); gold (letting go).

Each chapter guides us, gently yet firmly, toward facing what is around us as well as what is in us. The overall effect is soothing, I find, to the degree that it has helped me, approaching my own midpoint in life, see the aging process for the beauty and freedom it brings. It is a time to free oneself of the cumbersome masks one has worn in a more naive youth, to embrace wisdom and meaning rather than that which passes quickly and leaving no lasting mark. It is a time to gather all that we have learned in the first half of our lives and bring it all to fruition, entering a time of unbounded creativity, love based on truth rather than illusion, and finding a peace that will make crossing that final gold gate a time of celebration for a life well lived.

If we have lost respect for aging in our society, it is time we take it back. Arrien reminds us, by bringing back the wisdom of the ages, that age in ourselves is something to be welcomed rather than resisted. To resist it is to rob ourselves of what may well be the best time of our lives.

[Linda Orvis]

The Second Half of Life took me forever to read because it's one of those books that you read––have to think about for a while––apply it to your life, and repeat the process. I recommend this to not only older readers, but people of any age. The lessons taught in each of the gates: Silver Gate, White Gate, Clay Gate, Black & White Gate, Rustic Gate, Bone Gate, Natural Gate, and Gold Gate, are applicable to any age, and in fact, lead one to ways to get a jump on the process of living a meaningful and rich life. There are wonderful quotes throughout, and one of my favorites, from the author is, "As we look back on our lives, we realize that the harvest of youth is achievement, the harvest of middle age is perspective, and the harvest of old age is wisdom." (Angeles Arrien)

[Leigh]

I have the audio version of this book, and I ended up buying the book because I thought I might be better able to grasp the concept of the eight gates a little better. I have enjoyed most of Angeles Arrien's works, but I had a hard time corresponding the specific gates with the concepts associated with them. More specifically, the clay gate is associated with intimacy and sensuality. I understand that these are "earthy" emotions but my mind has a hard time corresponding that with a "clay" gate (or for that matter even visualizing a clay gate) compared to some of the other gates (white picket gate, rusty gate, etc.) It is most likely my own problem of being too literal and not being able to visualize the correspondence, but the teachings don't sink in as well if I can't really visualize it.

[Julie Anderson]

I've read and participated in the exercises in this book with a group of 12 women. Been very interesting to pass though each gate and take on its challenges. Some were much easier than others, but still, a fascinating journey.

[Kristen Freiburger]

Amazing! Heading to Schuler's to purchase my own copy. I could highlight almost every sentence in this gem. Highly recommend.

[Jan Wollet]

This is a great read. A book that will have different meaning at different points in ones life.

[Nancy Lewis]

It's not clear where these eight gates came from, but this book gives us a nice, easy to understand framework as guidance for how to handle getting older.

[Emily]

Everyone approaches each of these gates in a different order and at a different time in their life.

[Karen]

I borrowed this book from the library and made copious notes, but will be buying my own copy today because it's just that kind of book. One to keep, treasure, and refer to often.

[Kathleen]

Makes you look forward to aging

[Stephanie Spence]

This is one of those rare books that doesn’t just ask to be read; it asks to be lived. Arrien’s Eight Gates of Wisdom provide a framework that only deepens with age. Reading it in one’s twenties or thirties may plant a seed, but reading it in one’s sixties (as I did), after walking through some of these gates, allows the book’s depth and resonance to truly unfold.

Arrien reminds us that wisdom is not abstract… it must be embodied. The real gift of this book lies not in its pages alone but in the practices, questions, and invitations to reflect. To engage with it fully means journaling, making art, or creating rituals that carry the insights off the page and into daily life.

A beautiful companion for anyone seeking not just to understand the second half of life but to inhabit it with courage, creativity, and grace.

[Rhyena]

beautiful meditation on aging, pulling in symbols and cultural references across the globe, moving between macro and micro perspectives, and giving the viewer her wisdom. it requires a certain level of concentration and I doubt I will retain much more than the memory of the loveliness of perusing what she wrote. I like the construct of the 8 gates but already can't remember them, so its more of poetry and contemplation.

[Barb Cherem]

Great stories of different decades of our aging, by some authors and writers who speak to their own aging. I found the book a fun one to peruse and especially enjoyed Gloria Steinem when in her 70s. There were folks in their 60s, 70s, 80s and even their 90s who had different takes on this difficult era called "Aging". And yes indeed, it is an apprenticeship, that nobody quite knows the secret to traversing, but many fine ides emerge.

[Emily Silva]

I picked this book up out of curiosity and loved how it was split into 8 parts representing changes that happens as you gain wisdom. There are reflections at the end of each chapter which I took time with. In the end, the book made me hopeful for old age and excited to gain wisdom with each passing year.

[Devra A.]

I absolutely love the book read it in one sitting very poignant very interesting details and look into what is the marriage what his relationship who are the people in it

[Pat Kennedy]

I loved the cross cultural references.

[Melanie Winter]

Recommended by Denise DeZolt

[Kathy Spurlock]

Beautifully written. Loved it.

[Becky]

A book to help people move through mid-life spiritually. It reads somewhere between a self-help book and a scholarly paper which made it challenging for me to connect with the material.

[Trey]

Richness of Depth

This is a must read for those in the second half of life. My highlighter ran out of ink. Once read, now I will go back and absorb and practice it’s benefits.

[Gamze]

Too many words and repetitions...if you like poetry might be for you since lots of snapshots in this book...just another James Hollis (Jungian) style book about second half of life.

[Abby Crow]

“To be young and vital is nothing. To be old and vital is sorcery.”

This book was equal parts bland and intriguing. Some little gems, but overall ‘meh.

[Joy]

This book felt like a compilation of info from many "self-help" books. Really didn't care for it.

[Overbooked ✎]

not my cup of tea, DNF @18%

[Mary]

I have really mixed feelings about this book. There are some good ideas, but also a lot of hooey.

[Ann Petersen]

I think this book would have been more useful to me 25 years ago.

[Greta]

This book provides, through the metaphor of gates, ways of approaching the aging process as a series of beginnings, rather than endings. What a wonderful perspective and a positive alternative to the usual decline-and-demise lens we usually view growing older through! I received this book for my 50th birthday and think it would be valuable to read it again, perhaps every year, to remind myself that the courage to change, to open, and to dream must never be lost if one wants to achieve wisdom, strength, and one's highest values.

[Clivemichael]

My second time reading this. A great assessment of life's challenges with insightful directions for proceeding towards that final moment with dignity, courage and spirit. There is a subtle power in well crafted words and Angeles speaks that language.
"The harvest of youth is achievement, the harvest of middle age is perspective and the harvest of old age is wisdom."
On this journey are "The Four Rivers of Life: Inspiration, challenge, surprise and love"
Which one are you crossing today?

[Beth]

Excellent approach to gracefully aging. It offers stories, poems, and the author's own series of 8 gates that one walks through to find deeper meaning in life as the years accumulate. Highly recommend it. I have picked it up many times and read sections of it, but have never read it cover-to-cover. It works well that way.....at least for me.

[Nikki]

She gives a very interesting view of aging...how we change during the second half of our lives. She takes the reader through 8 "gates" or thresholds which help us live more meaningful lives as we age. I related eerily with much of what she talked about. This book also caused me some significant self-reflection. I would like to read this book again in a few years.