If you’ve been feeling unexpectedly lost in your academic pursuits, or a recent change has thrown you off course more than you thought it would, you could be in transition. 

Sometimes, perhaps several times in the course of an academic life, things shift. What feels meaningful changes. What you have stamina, energy, and excitement for changes. You find that you are no longer the person you once were, but who are you becoming?

The challenge

Inner transitions unfold on a different timescale and logic than outer changes in our careers.

When academic environments focus only on narrowly-cast understandings of ‘career progress’ and ‘professional growth’, the deeper currents of personal evolution go unacknowledged. This is a problem, especially for those of us who care very much about what we do and how we do it.

We need ways to understand the dynamics of transition as integral to growth.

We need ways to narrate experiences of transition that acknowledge loss and lostness, yet preserve dignity, hope, and ambition.

And we also need to know, as we’re weathering these storms, that we’re not alone. 

A resource

I wrote this chapter to share the story of my own midlife transition – a process that shook me up in unexpected, deeply difficult, yet ultimately necessary ways.

Coopmans, Catelijne (2024) ‘Body in the loop: Navigating academic midlife’, in Hammond, K. & Lemon, N. (ed.), Navigating Tensions and Transitions in Higher Education, Routledge.

Besides my personal experience, the chapter shares a narrative framework for understanding and valuing inner transitions. I intend it to be an invitation into self-reflection and self-kindness, as well as a reminder that how we come to know our strength can be surprising.    

What you’ll receive when you sign up:

• A copy of the chapter sent directly to your inbox.
• A few accompanying emails over the next week with further insights from conversations I’ve had with other academics about the chapter.

Note: by signing up for this you’ll be added to my email list. You can unsubscribe at any time.