THE MEANING OF LIFE

A broad-based, comprehensive approach to finding one’s purpose in life.

Figuring out the meaning of one’s life, writes consultant Novosel in his nonfiction debut, can feel too challenging to contemplate. To counter this type of thinking, he stresses that the insight necessary to begin a self-realization journey need not happen in a single, melodramatic flash—it can be a slow, gradual process. His book presents principles and some activities that aim to help make this process more concrete. Several chapters concentrate on big ideas, from “Emotions” to “Ethics” to “Belief,” and in all cases, Novosel reminds readers of their own agency: “You control your own destiny,” he writes. “Choice is a crucial component of finding your meaning in life because you ultimately decide what is meaningful to you.” In clear but substantial prose, he seeks to help his readers clarify what’s meaningful to them—and what isn’t and can’t possibly be. It’s not surprising, he writes, that people often use various crutches to manipulate these priorities, but he offers a warning: “Alcohol, tobacco, opioids, non-reproductive sexual activity, gambling, and other addictive substances and behaviors affect their emotions and trigger their brains’ rewards systems in ways that are not conducive to growth.” Novosel provides his readers with various “thought exercises” and writing assignments, and his tone throughout the book is one of reassurance as he tells readers of what they can achieve if they take stock of their emotions and self-destructive habits. His approach is also thoroughly secular and science-aware: “The result of human evolution,” Novosel writes, “is an unprecedented combination of genetics, instinct, and rational thoughts.” It’s an uncanny combination of elements that results in an unexpectedly uplifting book.

A richly thoughtful and offbeat self-help guide.