The Books Maslow Never Lived to Write

"Maslow always worked on a half-dozen books simultaneously; if not for his chronic heart disease, he might well have produced other seminal works into a ripe old age. After a major heart attack in 1967, Maslow felt himself in an intensified race against time. Little could be done medically back then; he publicly told audiences that he was living a moment-to-moment, "post-mortem" existence (his words) in which he had so much to say, and few remaining days to do so."

"First on Maslow's agenda was a self-help book for adolescents, based on his hierarchy of inborn needs. Although previously shunning this genre for its oversimplifications, he now felt a pressing need for popularization. His goal: To guide adolescents along the path to self-actualization, avoiding both the illusory appeal of the hippy-and-drug subculture and competing pressures for social conformity. "Drugs, which can be helpful when wisely used," Maslow wrote scant weeks before his death, "become dangerous when foolishly used. Instead of being"

Abraham Maslow died at 62 while at the peak of intellectual vigor and was simultaneously working on multiple book projects. Chronic heart disease and a major 1967 heart attack intensified a race against time, prompting a moment-to-moment, "post-mortem" sense of urgency. Personal journals, publications, and colleagues' reminiscences indicate at least five planned books. Immediate goals focused on applying humanistic psychology to personal and societal actualization. A top priority was a self-help book for adolescents grounded in the hierarchy of inborn needs to steer youth away from drug-driven countercultures and pressures toward conformity.

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