fei75766_ch11_345-376.indd 347  02/06/20 12:38 PM
Chapter 11    May: Existential Psychology347
Many people, Maybelieved, lackthecourage tofacetheirdestiny, andinthe
process offleeing from it,theygiveupmuch oftheirfreedom. Having negated their
freedom, theylikewise runaway from theirresponsibility. Notbeing willing tomake 
choices, theylosesight ofwhotheyareanddevelop asense ofinsignificance and
alienation. Incontrast, healthy people challenge theirdestiny, cherish theirfreedom, 
andliveauthentically withother people andwiththemselves. They recognize the
inevitability ofdeath andhavethecourage tolivelifeinthepresent.
Biography of Rollo May
Rollo Reese MaywasbornonApril 21,1909, inAda, Ohio, thefirstsonofthesix
children borntoEarlTittle MayandMatie Boughton May. Neither parent wasvery
welleducated, andMay’s early intellectual climate wasvirtually nonexistent. Infact,
when hisolder sister hadapsychotic breakdown some years later, May’s father attrib -
utedittotoomuch education (Bilmes, 1978)!
Atanearly age,Maymoved withhisfamily toMarine City, Michigan, where he
spent most ofhischildhood. Asayoung boy,Maywasnotparticularly close toeither 
ofhisparents, whofrequently argued witheachother andeventually separated. May’s 
father, asecretary fortheYoung Men’s Christian Association, moved frequently dur-
ingMay’s youth. May’s mother often leftthechildren tocareforthemselves and,
according toMay’s description, wasa“bitch-kitty onwheels” (Rabinowitz, Good, &
Cozad, 1989, p.437). Mayattributed hisowntwofailed marriages tohismother’s 
unpredictable behavior andtohisolder sister’s psychotic episode.
During hischildhood, Mayfound solitude andrelief from family strife by
playing ontheshores oftheSt.Clair River. Theriverbecame hisfriend, aserene 
place toswim during thesummer andtoiceskate during thewinter. Heclaimed to
havelearned more from theriverthanfrom theschool heattended inMarine City
(Rabinowitz etal.,1989). Asayouth, heacquired aninterest inartandliterature, 
interests thatnever lefthim.Hefirstattended college atMichigan State University, 
where hemajored inEnglish. However, hewasasked toleave school soon afterhe
became editor ofaradical student magazine. Maythentransferred toOberlin College 
inOhio, from which hereceived abachelor’s degree in1930.
Forthenext3years, Mayfollowed acourse verysimilar totheonetraveled by
ErikErikson some 10years earlier (seeChapter 7).Heroamed throughout eastern 
andsouthern Europe asanartist, painting pictures andstudying native art(Harris, 
1969). Actually, thenominal purpose forMay’s tripwastotutor English atAnatolia 
College inSaloniki, Greece. Thisjobprovided himtimetowork asanitinerant artist 
inTurkey, Poland, Austria, andother countries. However, byhissecond year, May
wasbeginning tobecome lonely. Asaconsequence, hepoured himself intohiswork 
asateacher, buttheharder heworked, thelesseffective hebecame.
Finally inthespring ofthatsecond yearIhadwhatiscalled, euphemistically, anervous 
breakdown. Which meant simply thattherules, principles, values, bywhich Iusedto
work andlivesimply didnotsuffice anymore. Igotsocompletely fatigued thatIhadto
gotobedfortwoweeks togetenough energy tocontinue myteaching. Ihadlearned 
enough psychology atcollege toknow thatthese symptoms meant thatsomething was
wrong withmywhole wayoflife.Ihadtofindsome newgoals andpurposes formy
living andtorelinquish mymoralistic, somewhat rigidwayofexistence. (May, 1985, p.8)Final PDF to printer