A Wonderful Life

Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence

By: Frank Martela

Narrated by: Steve Edwards

In a series of essays that explore the notion of what brings significance to our existences, clarifying why we have this longing beyond the present moment and an insatiable dissatisfaction with where we are, scholar Frank Martela tackles the subject of finding meaning in life.

With beautiful decorative elements and an engaging design, the book approaches its subject in a readily digestible form. It grapples with some of life’s most pressing questions, like ""Is happiness a worthy goal?"" and ""What is the foundation for meaning in a secular society?"" and ""Is life an existential void?"" yet Martela answers these questions and more in a relaxed, conversational tone and with a wry sense of humor, placing some of life’s greatest philosophical concerns and quandaries into a modern-day context.

Martela quickly and concisely gets to the heart of the matter: your place in the world and how to find meaning in life as countless thinkers and philosophers have done before, yet the emphasis here is on what we do with the life we have and how we can make it more meaningful. Part prescriptive and part armchair philosophy book, A Wonderful Life is accessible to everyone, from the well-read scholar to the apprentice as well as anyone curious about how to extract the greatest meaning and sense of purpose from their existence.

Satisfying Analysis

A satisfying analysis. A theory-, research-, and evidence- based approach to helping the reader understand and make sense of a key life mystery—and improve our own life and wellbeing while doing so.

An excellent book to resume daily topics

I like a lot of the examples driven by the author chapter by chapter. This book raise the interest of started following Frank Martela with other books.

Great book about the meaning of life

Who hasn't wondered what is the meaning of this all. I've read several books about happiness and somehow I feel that this book gave the best answers this far. It all starts when you realize that humankind has been asking this question just for a few centuries.

Could Have Been a PowerPoint

This was a short book that still seemed to go on for a bit too long. The content could have been adequately covered in a concise set of PowerPoint slides, as the focus wasn't really on storytelling. Many of the ideas felt familiar, but perhaps that isn't too surprising given the topic. I did appreciate the insight about distinguishing between THE meaning of life and finding meaning IN life, which is one of those things that seems obvious only after someone actually says it.