In essence, THE MEANING OF LIFE is an instruction manual for human beings. It is designed to help the reader figure out what areas of life are most meaningful for them, whether they be emotional, spiritual, career, family, or other aspirations, and how to grow purposely and effectively into a life of meaning directed at those areas. The author has a chapter for each factor that he views as contributing towards developing a life of meaningful growth, and explains in detail how each factor came to be from their development in primitive form in single-celled organisms to how they currently manifest themselves in human lives, finishing each section with worksheets and questions designed to help the reader figure out how to incorporate these factors into their own search for meaning.

At times, this detailed and thorough approach becomes a bit too detailed, as if the author were explaining to aliens just how humans operate and what motivates us. The rehashing of every factor through its origin in single-celled creatures to humans becomes a bit tedious and repetitive – linking human desires, experiences, and particularly ethics and decision-making to origins in very primitive creatures is interesting in a scientific sense but doesn’t do much to illustrate how important those factors are to human meaning and purpose. On the other hand, the thorough approach does have the effect of providing a solid logical basis for the philosophy the author sets forth, and the actions he recommends. The ethics section in particular is quite extensive, and probably needs to be, given the complexity and sensitivity of the topic – however, the discussion of the origin of ethics in the animal kingdom, while interesting, might benefit from a bit of trimming to put more focus on human ethics and how ethical decisions can and should be made.

The book’s main benefit, on the whole, is its invitation to the reader to thoroughly examine their lives and evaluate the factors that have led them to where they are and which may help or hinder further growth. He offers a source of meaning and purpose that do not require, but also do not completely exclude, religion, thus making the book accessible to people of all faiths and no faith (although some of his arguments for the irrelevance of a postulated creator’s intent with respect to one’s own sense of meaning and purpose may strike some believers as problematic).

THE MEANING OF LIFE is a thorough, detailed exploration of the factors that can help or hinder people as they seek to build a purposeful, fulfilling life. It will be most useful for those who are open to careful and thoughtful self-examination.

~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader