This book shows how individuals develop a unique style or 'melody' of living, beyond physical and social constraints.

Tania Zittoun is a Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Preface: from dispute to collaboration; Introduction: melodies of living; Part I. Time for Development: 1. Solidity of science and fullness of living: a theoretical exposé; 2. Imagination and the life course; 3. Moving through time: imagination and memory as semiotic processes; 4. Models of time for the life course; Part II. Spaces for Development: 5. Social framing of lives: from phenomena to theories; 6. Stability and innovation in adults narrating their lives: insights from psychotherapy research; 7. Paradoxes of learning; Part III. Beyond Time and Space: Imagination: 8. We are migrants!; 9. Playing while being serious: the lifelong game of development - and its tools; 10. Playing under the influence: activity contexts in their social functions; 11. 'Old age' as living forward; 12. Epilogue: the course of life as a melody.