Evanston Township High School is sponsoring a virtual Family Action Network event, “Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age,” on Thursday, Sept. 9. 

The event, featuring Bruce Feiler, the bestselling author of “The Secrets of Happy Families” and “Council of Dads,” will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday on Zoom and is free and open to the public, suitable for ages 12 and up. Registration is required.

To better understand how we find the meaning of our lives, Feiler set out on a cross-country journey to listen to life stories and learn from them. He collected hundreds of stories from a range of Americans in all 50 states. He then sifted through and coded these stories, building a database of patterns and lessons. Feiler’s takeaway from the project boiled down to this: The linear life – the idea that we’ll have one career, one marriage, one source of happiness – is dead.

Feiler’s book, “Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age,” introduces the vision of the nonlinear life, in which personal disruptions and “lifequakes” are becoming more plentiful, nontraditional life shapes are becoming the norm, and each of us has the opportunity to embrace change as transformational. Drawing on a trove of insights, Feiler illustrates that life transitions are a skill we can and must master and he offers a powerful new transition toolkit with strategies for coping with the difficult, painful or unsettling times of life.

Feiler will be in conversation with Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein, who began his tenure as Senior Rabbi at Am Shalom Synagogue in Glencoe in 2002.

The event will be recorded and available later on FAN’s website and YouTube channel. A bonus after-hours event is also available to webinar attendees. For more information, visit www.familyactionnetwork.net.