ABSTRACT
Alastair MacIntyre presents a theory that helps to see health as a coherent and positive life story. He calls it 'narrative unity'. Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the term identity crisis. His research with troubled children led him to propose eight life stages. Erikson's eight life stages are: infancy; early childhood; preschool; school age; adolescence; young adulthood; middle adulthood; and maturity. The chapter describes a need to repeatedly move between different ways of thinking, seeing and behaving to incrementally transform themselves and one's relationships. When relationships become functional arrangements, the spark goes out of them. Relationships grow through new adventures. They need physical contact, whether the intimacy of lovers, the hug of a friend or a formal handshake.
