A Life in Light

A memoir in essays reflecting on radiance, resilience, and the constantly changing nature of reality from the New York Times–bestselling author.

A USA Today Must Read

In her luminous memoir of meditations, Mary Pipher taps into a cultural moment, to offer wisdom, hope, and insight into loss and change. Drawing from her own experiences and expertise as a psychologist specializing in women, trauma, and the effect of our culture on our mental health, she looks inward in A Life in Light to what shaped her as a woman, one who has experienced darkness throughout her life but was always drawn to the light.

Her plainspoken depictions of her hard childhood and life's difficulties are dappled with moments of joy and revelation, tragedies and ordinary miseries, glimmers and shadow. As a child, she was separated from her parents for long periods. Those separations affected her deeply, but in A Life in Light she explores what she's learned about how to balance despair with joy, utilizing and sharing with readers every coping skill she has honed during her lifetime to remind us that there is a silver thread of resilience that flows through all of life, and that despite our despair, the light will return.

“Incandescent . . . Mary Pipher shines a light on what really matters, and in doing so, she reflects our lives back at us with exquisite awareness. . . . She has given us all essential lessons on how to balance despair with a sense of wonder and inspires us to lead more light-filled lives.” ―Lori Gottlieb, New York Times–bestselling author