It is not often that I say a book changed my life, but Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes is one of those times. It is a book I have often picked up and found useful at different times in my life. It adapts to any situation involving change you are facing. I originally picked it up when I was having difficulties at work, and, since then, it has also seen me through a breakup and the mourning of two deaths.

Author William Bridges originally wrote Transitions when he was going through a major transition himself 30 years ago - changing careers. The first edition sold over 500,000 copies but this review is based on the slightly edited and expanded second edition. This is a book everyone should have on their bookshelves.

Bridges starts by defining transition and explains how it differs from change – change being the situation that you are facing and transition being ‘the inner reorientation and self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life.’

The main part of the book covers the three stages of change: Endings, The Neutral Zone and Beginnings. In Endings, Bridges breaks down the stages of disengagement that you need to go through when going through a transition.

He then moves on to the neutral zone, which is the most original and helpful part of the book. He explains that ‘the neutral zone is essentially one of emptiness in which the old reality looks transparent and nothing looks solid anymore.’ He recommends accepting that it is going to happen rather than force yourself to hurry through it, a novel idea in a culture that is bent on fixing things quickly. We need to take time to process the transition we are going through - whether it be from one job to another, from being single to being part of a couple, facing a death or dealing with a breakup.

I know personally I want to race into the next stage, and feel uncomfortable in the neutral zone, that no man's land. An example of this is when you breakup: for a long time I don't really feel happy and single, and I definitely am not part of a couple anymore. That is the neutral zone. It is an uncomfortable place to be in, but it also a time of potential and a time of great insight. This book has helped me to slow down and face the changes in my life by transitioning through properly - now I get to move on, rather than leaping at the first diversion that takes my mind off the change.

Finally he covers Beginnings and how to recognize that they are true beginnings, and not just diversions.

Keeping his theory very simple and then illustrates it in many different ways which makes this book easy to understand: he uses his own life-story, examples from the first class he taught about transitions, examples from history, anecdotes from people he knows and from famous people, mythological examples, tribal rites, psychological studies and examples from literature. As well as this he also gives practical exercises for the reader to try. There will be something that will resonate with the reader. I liked the real-life examples and the tribal rites but found the myths he introduced to be too long and boring, whereas a friend I lent this to loved the myths.

A book I highly recommend - a helpful companion in times of change.