cover image Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living

Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living

Nancy Anderson. New World Library, $16.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-1-57731-444-8

First published in 1984, and now reprinted in an anniversary edition, this book contains concepts as pertinent today as they were 20 years ago. The first chapter opens with the question, ""Are you as happy on Monday morning as you are on Friday morning?"" Anderson, a career counselor, believes that people who love their work will be. She sets out to help readers identify their passions and determine how those interests can translate into a career that pays the bills. More emotionally charged than most career books, this volume also delves into the meaning of personal history and childhood events, and carefully considers feelings, self-perception and motivation. Points are illustrated with detailed real-life stories of Anderson's clients. It's not all smooth sailing for the case study subjects, who experience ""the normal anxiety and fear that are part of risk-taking"" and have been hit by ""the need for security that can draw us back into the familiar."" To facilitate a realistic transition, Anderson's thorough process goes beyond simply identifying what one wants to do and explains how to research, network and even strike out on one's own in order to achieve a passion-worthy career.