The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self

The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self is a 2021 self-help book by Martha Beck, a noted author and professional life coach. Beck holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University and has written several bestselling books, including two influential memoirs, Expecting Adam and Leaving the Saints. She is a longstanding contributor to O: The Oprah Magazine, serves as a regular speaker at conferences, and maintains an active practice as a life coach. The Way of Integrity was honored as a 2022 selection for Oprah’s Book Club. It uses the story of Dante’s journey from his medieval classic, The Divine Comedy, as a framework to explore personal transformation through the attainment of inner wholeness.

This study guide uses the original 2021 edition from The Open Field (Penguin Life Books).

Content Warning: The Way of Integrity and this study guide both include brief mentions of an episode of sexual abuse by a parental figure.

Summary

The Way of Integrity invites readers to undertake a journey toward inner wholeness, living their lives consistently from their own deepest values and refusing to bend to the repression that outward cultures might impose on them. “Integrity,” in this sense, is not defined as the pursuit of a set of virtues, but rather as a lifestyle characterized by an integral unity of one’s values, desires, and actions.