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Living with Borrowed Dust: Reflections on Life, Love, and Other Grievances
Life can often feel like a distraction, dividing us not only from others but also from ourselves. Yet even within the cacophony of life, deep down you can intuit your own soul, that part of you that knows you better than you know yourself, and that offers moments of solace.
Our disconnect from this inner source of guidance leads to self-doubt, but bestselling author and Jungian analyst James Hollis provides a reminder that we carry within what we’re so anxiously looking for from a crazed world. “Behind the noise and beneath the surface, something in the soul of each of us cries out,” says Hollis. “While we may be distracted from this summons, the soul keeps asking that we pay attention.” These summons come to us through symptoms, dreams, and restless nights. Here, Hollis reveals tools we can utilize to engage in a conversation with the soul.
In this collection of essays, Hollis helps us to reflect deeply on questions that explore and celebrate life's challenges in our evolving world, including how happiness is attained, how to approach our dreams, the divided soul of America, our fear and fascination with death, and the conflict between good and evil. Using analytic psychology as a vehicle for the recovery of a spiritual life in a secular age, you’ll find inspiration for reconnecting with deep wisdom, bringing renewed purpose and dignity to this mysterious journey called life.
Our disconnect from this inner source of guidance leads to self-doubt, but bestselling author and Jungian analyst James Hollis provides a reminder that we carry within what we’re so anxiously looking for from a crazed world. “Behind the noise and beneath the surface, something in the soul of each of us cries out,” says Hollis. “While we may be distracted from this summons, the soul keeps asking that we pay attention.” These summons come to us through symptoms, dreams, and restless nights. Here, Hollis reveals tools we can utilize to engage in a conversation with the soul.
In this collection of essays, Hollis helps us to reflect deeply on questions that explore and celebrate life's challenges in our evolving world, including how happiness is attained, how to approach our dreams, the divided soul of America, our fear and fascination with death, and the conflict between good and evil. Using analytic psychology as a vehicle for the recovery of a spiritual life in a secular age, you’ll find inspiration for reconnecting with deep wisdom, bringing renewed purpose and dignity to this mysterious journey called life.
- GenresPsychologySpirituality
182 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
62 people are currently reading
3426 people want to read
About the author
James Hollis
53 books948 followersJames Hollis, Ph. D., was born in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated from Manchester University in 1962 and Drew University in 1967. He taught Humanities 26 years in various colleges and universities before retraining as a Jungian analyst at the Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland (1977-82). He is presently a licensed Jungian analyst in private practice in Washington, D.C. He served as Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas for many years and now was Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington until 2019, and now serves on the JSW Board of Directors. He is a retired Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, was first Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is Vice-President Emeritus of the Philemon Foundation. Additionally he is a Professor of Jungian Studies for Saybrook University of San Francisco/Houston.
He lives with his wife Jill, an artist and retired therapist, in Washington, DC. Together they have three living children and eight grand-children.
He has written a total of seventeen books, which have been translated into Swedish, Russian, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Farsi, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Serbian, Latvian, Ukranian and Czech.
He lives with his wife Jill, an artist and retired therapist, in Washington, DC. Together they have three living children and eight grand-children.
He has written a total of seventeen books, which have been translated into Swedish, Russian, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Farsi, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Serbian, Latvian, Ukranian and Czech.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 24, 2025
I adore this book. James Hollis reflects on many of the things he has learned in his long, full life. Reading Living with Borrowed Dust really feels like sitting with an elder. And Hollis is the sort of elder I want to hear more from. The book bounces around from topic to topic, all of them interesting, all of them relevant. I was particularly fascinated by the discussion of Jung since I only recently began my own journey reading and studying the subject. The narration was simple and direct, letting the author's words shine. Thank you to the author, narrator, Sounds True, and NetGalley for the audioARC.
August 2, 2025
I used to really enjoy James Hollis, especially his earlier works. They were clear, grounded, full of insight. And I still relate to many of his ideas. But lately, it’s like he’s trying to win a poetry contest. Instead of communicating complex ideas clearly, he’s bent on reaching for the most abstruse phrasing. Bro, it’s exhausting af. Like, there is a dialectic afoot, beckoning us toward a distant port of call where the soul, unmoored, must navigate the ineffable tides of becoming.
August 17, 2025
Masterful and generous, as per
December 28, 2025
James Hollis is my favorite Jungian author, someone on whose wisdom I've come to rely for thirty years. I read his books, pencil in hand, underlining passages that help me understand my own life more deeply. I make notes in the margins. On the last white page of the book, I list pages to revisit.
This 2025 publication is a collection of essays, some explicating Jungian ideas, others focused on what might be called later life concerns, and one essential read for this point in time "Divided Soul/ Divided Nation: Reflections on the American Electorate. More later on that.
The Preface titled "Living on Borrowed Dust" is autobiographical and recounts his recent serious health issues. He and his wife recently moved into a retirement cooperative. Hollis is 85. He closes that first essay with these words: "So let this book be a companion, a summon, a guide, and a reminder that we carry within what we are so anxiously looking for in the crazed world out there." That sets the tone and purpose for what follows.
Hollis helps the reader reconnect with soul in an age that is filled with so much that distracts us from important soul work. And in contrast with so many of the "happy happy love love" self-help books out there, he tells us that "If we wish to live fully, it is not happiness that is the goal, but to be consumed by that which we have come to love." And it is the fact that this describes his own life that accounts for his grace and acceptance, despite five years of devastating health problems, surgeries, and treatments. He remains absorbed in his work, in his passion, in the essential questions.
Hollis's analysis of our present time, our divided nation, is helpful to understanding how we might thoughtfully proceed. "The contentious divisions in our nation presently stem from one elemental phenomenon: the resistance of the timorous ego of many to changes in definitions, categories, peoples, socioeconomic structures, and so on. Since the nature of nature is change, change will always win out, even if it takes a century of persistence."
Hollis embarks on his insightful discussion of our current political state through his patients who come to him and his colleague therapists suffering from greater anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, gastric disturbances, and anger than ever before. He quotes H. L. Mencken from a 1929 newspaper article, " As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright moron." Seems like Rex Tillerson was spot on. The "Divided Nation" essay traces the history of our growing divide, its characteristics, and an analysis of why Donald Trump was the man for the moment ... all from a Jungian perspective, with reference to Shadow, because countries have Shadows too. And he ends the essay with seven constructive things one can do to resist: Work on yourself, show up and speak out, vote, keep doing what you do, be kind, be a skeptic, and stay conscious through it all."
I'll end on one of my important take-aways from this powerful book: "Sustaining the energy, the focus, the fierce commitment to growth and learning is difficult but critical to the depth and dignity of our journey." And that's how to journey well.
Journey Well!
This 2025 publication is a collection of essays, some explicating Jungian ideas, others focused on what might be called later life concerns, and one essential read for this point in time "Divided Soul/ Divided Nation: Reflections on the American Electorate. More later on that.
The Preface titled "Living on Borrowed Dust" is autobiographical and recounts his recent serious health issues. He and his wife recently moved into a retirement cooperative. Hollis is 85. He closes that first essay with these words: "So let this book be a companion, a summon, a guide, and a reminder that we carry within what we are so anxiously looking for in the crazed world out there." That sets the tone and purpose for what follows.
Hollis helps the reader reconnect with soul in an age that is filled with so much that distracts us from important soul work. And in contrast with so many of the "happy happy love love" self-help books out there, he tells us that "If we wish to live fully, it is not happiness that is the goal, but to be consumed by that which we have come to love." And it is the fact that this describes his own life that accounts for his grace and acceptance, despite five years of devastating health problems, surgeries, and treatments. He remains absorbed in his work, in his passion, in the essential questions.
Hollis's analysis of our present time, our divided nation, is helpful to understanding how we might thoughtfully proceed. "The contentious divisions in our nation presently stem from one elemental phenomenon: the resistance of the timorous ego of many to changes in definitions, categories, peoples, socioeconomic structures, and so on. Since the nature of nature is change, change will always win out, even if it takes a century of persistence."
Hollis embarks on his insightful discussion of our current political state through his patients who come to him and his colleague therapists suffering from greater anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, gastric disturbances, and anger than ever before. He quotes H. L. Mencken from a 1929 newspaper article, " As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright moron." Seems like Rex Tillerson was spot on. The "Divided Nation" essay traces the history of our growing divide, its characteristics, and an analysis of why Donald Trump was the man for the moment ... all from a Jungian perspective, with reference to Shadow, because countries have Shadows too. And he ends the essay with seven constructive things one can do to resist: Work on yourself, show up and speak out, vote, keep doing what you do, be kind, be a skeptic, and stay conscious through it all."
I'll end on one of my important take-aways from this powerful book: "Sustaining the energy, the focus, the fierce commitment to growth and learning is difficult but critical to the depth and dignity of our journey." And that's how to journey well.
Journey Well!
October 22, 2025
LWBD tries to explore deep topics like the soul, dreams, and living honestly through the ideas of Jung. Unfortunately, it often feels more like a poetic version of TikTok style advice rather than something truly insightful. Hollis talks a lot about signs from the body and mind telling us what to do, but these ideas seem more like comforting stories than solid psychology. For a book about finding meaning, it leans too far into vague mysticism instead of clear guidance.
The book’s lessons about being true to yourself are only helpful if you need to practice your eye rolling, and the explanations often sound like old clichés redone for an amateur poetry slam. Its focus on Jungian ideas makes the writing feel a bit outdated and disconnected from modern psychology. Instead of offering practical advice, the book sometimes feels like an echo of ideas that have been around forever, just wrapped up in a modern context. The title, inspired by a Stanley Kunitz poem, tries to remind us that life is fleeting, but you would get more truth from that poem than you will from this book.
The biggest problem shows up in the political chapter, which reinforces Hollis' snowflake credentials. The author's Trump derangement syndrome comes across as bitter and judgmental, and it tends to make the whole book feel divisive rather than helpful. I need to invent a word like "mansplaining" for a white liberal elite who is explaining to redneck Evangelicals that they are voting against their own interests out of some deep seeded fear. I wanted to provide his paragraph long rants on this, but I have already deleted the book from my Kindle. Que sera, sera.
Anyways, Living with Borrowed Dust attempts to provide thoughtful ideas but really only leaves confusing ramblings. It trades real substance for stylistic verbosity that almost sounds like ChatGPT more than a real human. Some might consider it a comforting read, but for me, it’s just more borrowed dust. It is rehashed, slightly dusty, and provides nothing fresh.
The book’s lessons about being true to yourself are only helpful if you need to practice your eye rolling, and the explanations often sound like old clichés redone for an amateur poetry slam. Its focus on Jungian ideas makes the writing feel a bit outdated and disconnected from modern psychology. Instead of offering practical advice, the book sometimes feels like an echo of ideas that have been around forever, just wrapped up in a modern context. The title, inspired by a Stanley Kunitz poem, tries to remind us that life is fleeting, but you would get more truth from that poem than you will from this book.
The biggest problem shows up in the political chapter, which reinforces Hollis' snowflake credentials. The author's Trump derangement syndrome comes across as bitter and judgmental, and it tends to make the whole book feel divisive rather than helpful. I need to invent a word like "mansplaining" for a white liberal elite who is explaining to redneck Evangelicals that they are voting against their own interests out of some deep seeded fear. I wanted to provide his paragraph long rants on this, but I have already deleted the book from my Kindle. Que sera, sera.
Anyways, Living with Borrowed Dust attempts to provide thoughtful ideas but really only leaves confusing ramblings. It trades real substance for stylistic verbosity that almost sounds like ChatGPT more than a real human. Some might consider it a comforting read, but for me, it’s just more borrowed dust. It is rehashed, slightly dusty, and provides nothing fresh.
April 20, 2025
This relatively short listen is thought provoking and poignant albeit I may not resonate or agree with all elements the core values of the messages delivered are outstanding. It’s delivered in a way that anyone can understand and particularly if you are on any kind of journey of self healing, looking within, accepting of passing of a loved one this may help you! We all face troubling times in life and navigating these can be difficult this is where books like this can be of assistance in teaching or reminding oneself!
I found some great reminders in this and the biggest take away is that we are all accountable for ourselves our lives and our own inner work however with a strong reminder “WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER” So be kind always because you never know what another may be going through in any capacity. To learn and know oneself is to understand at a deeper level how you can be of service in this world and listen to your calling without shrinking yourself due to old wounds and trauma. When you feel your going through the ring of fire, face it head on dig deep, remember your faith, heart & soul and then take the steps needed to live your most authentic true self.
One day at a time we all awaken to ourselves and the world around us and this audiobook was a fantastic listen to remind me of this!
This was well narrated by Steve Hendrickson and quite fast paced and detailed on a soul level so it may be good to listen and reflect and go back however I simply couldn’t wait to hear the next chapter!
With thanks to NetGalley & Sounds True Audiobook, this is in Listen Now category and was published last year so grateful for this 🙏🏼📚🎧❤️🧘🏼♀️
I found some great reminders in this and the biggest take away is that we are all accountable for ourselves our lives and our own inner work however with a strong reminder “WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER” So be kind always because you never know what another may be going through in any capacity. To learn and know oneself is to understand at a deeper level how you can be of service in this world and listen to your calling without shrinking yourself due to old wounds and trauma. When you feel your going through the ring of fire, face it head on dig deep, remember your faith, heart & soul and then take the steps needed to live your most authentic true self.
One day at a time we all awaken to ourselves and the world around us and this audiobook was a fantastic listen to remind me of this!
This was well narrated by Steve Hendrickson and quite fast paced and detailed on a soul level so it may be good to listen and reflect and go back however I simply couldn’t wait to hear the next chapter!
With thanks to NetGalley & Sounds True Audiobook, this is in Listen Now category and was published last year so grateful for this 🙏🏼📚🎧❤️🧘🏼♀️
September 29, 2025
Having read a few of Hollis’ books, Living with Borrowed Dust continues his recent style - a collection of essays that are more thought-provoking than technical. Instead of focusing on the psychology, he makes references to sources that range from well known works in psychology and literature to obscure poems that probably require further reading to fully understand his point.
The essays explore themes such as happiness, life, dreams, good and evil, trauma, and death. Whilst more relevant to the second half of life, they offer hope that the 'stories' that shape our psyche are not permanently fixed. At one time they may have served a purpose, but now they may be a cage, preventing you from living the life you want, although they may lie deep within your subconscious.
Certain realisations only come too late, and while we may try to live within our own vision of morality and wish that only good things come to us, we cannot escape our shadow, and darkness will eventually find us in some form. A commitment to growth and learning can serve as a small light to guide us, even in the hardest times - a light through Dante’s forest, without the tour of hell... In a way, this may be an answer to Jung’s question 'what supports you, when nothing supports you?'.
The essays explore themes such as happiness, life, dreams, good and evil, trauma, and death. Whilst more relevant to the second half of life, they offer hope that the 'stories' that shape our psyche are not permanently fixed. At one time they may have served a purpose, but now they may be a cage, preventing you from living the life you want, although they may lie deep within your subconscious.
Certain realisations only come too late, and while we may try to live within our own vision of morality and wish that only good things come to us, we cannot escape our shadow, and darkness will eventually find us in some form. A commitment to growth and learning can serve as a small light to guide us, even in the hardest times - a light through Dante’s forest, without the tour of hell... In a way, this may be an answer to Jung’s question 'what supports you, when nothing supports you?'.
Read
September 25, 2025A mix of brilliant insights and inaccessible ( to me) prose, reading this was worth the trouble to me for the nuggets that so aptly describe the human condition. Here is one example:
Meanwhile, much of humanity cries out, “ Oh where is the Beschart, the Beloved Other, where is the magical elixir? O, where is the guru who will tell me what it is all about? Who will take care of me and allow myself to avoid growing up and taking in life myself? Who will repair this broken world and make it whole again?
Hollis is both poet and wordsmith. His prose cuts me to the core or bores me to tears, usually because I do not have the patience to wade through his dense, pendantic language. For those interested in dipping into Hollis, I would recommend they start with some easier reads, such as “ Living an Examined Life” or “Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life”.
Meanwhile, much of humanity cries out, “ Oh where is the Beschart, the Beloved Other, where is the magical elixir? O, where is the guru who will tell me what it is all about? Who will take care of me and allow myself to avoid growing up and taking in life myself? Who will repair this broken world and make it whole again?
Hollis is both poet and wordsmith. His prose cuts me to the core or bores me to tears, usually because I do not have the patience to wade through his dense, pendantic language. For those interested in dipping into Hollis, I would recommend they start with some easier reads, such as “ Living an Examined Life” or “Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life”.
May 29, 2025
Este libro ha sido un cariño al corazón. Lo disfruté de principio a fin.
Llevo hace un tiempo siguiendo al analista jungiano James Hollis a través de podcasts y entrevistas que le han hecho y, realmente, su generosidad para compartir sus conocimientos en poesía, mito y arquetipo son difíciles de comparar. Es una persona que admiro muchísimo y este libro es una mirada en retrospectiva a lo que ha sido su vida. Hoy ya tiene más de 80 años.
Más que recomendable.
Llevo hace un tiempo siguiendo al analista jungiano James Hollis a través de podcasts y entrevistas que le han hecho y, realmente, su generosidad para compartir sus conocimientos en poesía, mito y arquetipo son difíciles de comparar. Es una persona que admiro muchísimo y este libro es una mirada en retrospectiva a lo que ha sido su vida. Hoy ya tiene más de 80 años.
Más que recomendable.
October 12, 2025
I always get good feelings, knowledge, and something useful from James Hollis. Often I even get that elusive concept of hope. He is the most accessible of Jungian scholars I have read. His following quote sums up his writing:
"So let this book be a companion, a summons, a guide, and a reminder that we carry within what we are so anxiously looking for in the crazed world out there...and let it bring to you renewed purpose, depth, and dignity for this mysterious journey called life."
"So let this book be a companion, a summons, a guide, and a reminder that we carry within what we are so anxiously looking for in the crazed world out there...and let it bring to you renewed purpose, depth, and dignity for this mysterious journey called life."
May 22, 2025
Another great read from James Hollis, the consummate gentleman scholar of Jungian thought the past few decades. He is great at presenting complicated ideas in a way that general readers can understand them. A true teacher. The chapter on our current political catastrophe is particularly good.
June 18, 2025
Mostly Beautiful
I did love most of his discussions on life, happiness, complexes, evil, etc. There were many chapters that felt verbose and uninteresting, but that is a personal interest, or lack thereof, only. The parts that were beautiful make it definitely worth the lead.
I did love most of his discussions on life, happiness, complexes, evil, etc. There were many chapters that felt verbose and uninteresting, but that is a personal interest, or lack thereof, only. The parts that were beautiful make it definitely worth the lead.
July 9, 2025
Loved every word of this book! I love James Hollis’ perspective. Listened on Audible, and now I want to reread the hard copy so I can soak in every word and highlight. That’s how you know it’s a good book.
March 5, 2025
DNF, I could not get into this book at all.
April 24, 2025
A wealth of wisdom accumulated from over the decades. It’s a short book of essays, but its depth is astounding.
Thanks to Sounds True Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Thanks to Sounds True Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
June 9, 2025
Audio
August 11, 2025
So much wisdom. ❤️
January 13, 2026
consistent with his other writing, Hollis reminds us that the Other inside has something to say and it is up to us to listen to it
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews