Reflecting on Mary Catherine Bateson's (1989) classic book—Composing a Life

Abstract

August’s Meeting was a wonderfully fruitful time of reflection and conversation on Mary Catherine Bateson’s (1989) classic book, Composing a Life. Guided by Lotte Bailyn and John Van Maanen, we were joined by Bateson’s daughter, Sevanne Kassarjian.

Date : Aug 11, 2022 11:00 AM — 12:30 PM

Event : TRG August Meeting

August’s Meeting was a wonderfully fruitful time of reflection and conversation on Mary Catherine Bateson’s (1989) classic book, Composing a Life. Guided by Lotte Bailyn and John Van Maanen, we were joined by Bateson’s daughter, Sevanne Kassarjian. Below is a small taste of that wonderful reading:

Mary Catherine Bateson has been called “one of the most original and important thinkers of our time” (Deborah Tannen). Grove Press is pleased to reissue Bateson’s deeply satisfying treatise on the improvisational lives of five extraordinary women. Using their personal stories as her framework, Dr. Bateson delves into the creative potential of the complex lives we live today, where ambitions are constantly refocused on new goals and possibilities. With balanced sympathy and a candid approach to what makes these women inspiring, examples of the newly fluid movement of adaptation–their relationships with spouses, children, and friends, their ever-evolving work, and their gender–Bateson shows us that life itself is a creative process. “Well-formulated and passionate … Offers nothing less than a radical rethinking of the concept of achievement. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Fascinating … A masterwork of rare breadth and particularity. (The Boston Globe)