Phil Cousineau

Selected as one of Spirituality and Health magazine's "BEST SPIRITUAL BOOKS OF THE YEAR"

ONCE AND FUTURE MYTHS draws on history, movies, pop culture, and Phil Cousineau's own life experience -- as he shows how myths are timeless stories that continue to shape and affect our lives. By taking us on a unique path to personal growth through a deep examination of our lives, Cousineau shows how we are all living out the myths that have been a part of humanity through the ages.

"In this personal book, many years in the making, renowned illustrator, photographer, and adventurer Cousineau speculates on the origins, development, and meaning of myths. Examining mythic tales from around the world, Cousineau argues that myth remains omnipresent in our daily life. To make his case, he examines a vast array of experiences, including baseball, popular music, diet, and general amusements. The thrust of this thoughtful book is that science may explain how the world works, but myth explains why. This is fascinating reading." --Library Journal

"Just because a myth is old, the author argues, doesn't mean it's out-of-date. Take King Sisyphus, for example. Here was a fellow sentenced to spend eternity rolling a boulder up the mountain of hell. An exercise in futility, yes, but at least Sisyphus didn't quit, refusing to let the gods of Olympus see him bow under the pressure. This is the stuff of modern drama, the author tells us, of stories and plays and screenplays about people whose strength of character carries them through situations of unimaginable difficulty. The ancient myths, he says, are as relevant today as they ever were. The author, an expert in this subject (he knew and has written extensively about Joseph Campbell), draws new inspiration from these old stories, reminding us that the things that are important to us today have always been important and that we have an enduring connection to the past. A fascinating introduction to the power of myth." --Booklist

"Try to imagine one book that will help you think more clearly about time, reveal the art of mentoring, capture the adventure of faraway places such as Easter Island and Paris, celebrate the challenges of creative struggle, and relish the sweet spot that is part and parcel of sports performance. Only a Renaissance man like Phil Cousineau could possibly have written this lyrical and enthralling paean to myth, which he calls "a series of ruminations on those stories and images that first opened my heart and continue to open it again and again." --Spirituality and Health

"Magnificent book!" --Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

"A tantalizing, delightfully personal travelogue through the landscape of some of the modern myths that shape and mishape our lives." --Sam Keen, author of Hymns to an Unknown God

"Once and Future Myths speaks to the stirrings of the heart. Phil Cousineau draws on his extensive work with Joseph Campbell to reveal mythic insights for everyday life. He finds openings in the tidy margins of experience to the enveloping intensity of the archetypal dimension." --Jonathan Young, Ph.D., founding curator, Joseph Campbell Archives and Library