What Should I Do with My Life?

This was a book I'd read about, mixed reviews, yet still wanted to read. I finally saw it in a used bookstore and picked it up. It was funny, because they had both the hardcover and the paperback editions but the price was only 50 cents difference. I gambled that I'd want the hardback.

And I'm glad I did. I went and read the reviews on Amazon after I read the book. Many of the points were well-taken: the book is myopic and doesn't see much beyond the age/class in which the author apparently resides. And yet... I still found the stories interesting. Admittedly, I'm in the same geographic region so perhaps I'm biased.

My biggest complaints was the age limit of the stories. Most 20 and 30 something year olds question what they're doing and make a change. Maybe I'm a part of the myopia but I consider "reconsidering your life" when you're 30 to be fairly nearsighted. You really haven't had much of one if you just got out of college in your early to mid-twenties--unless you've put yourself through college. The author addressed it directly and said he found stories from that age group "resonated" more with him, although I write that off to his own age.

I'm in my mid-forties. I've got friends in their 50's about to make life changes and I find that much more interesting and dramatic.

Still, I enjoyed the book. And I liked the way Bronson arranged them. I actually liked his personal commentary, which other reviewers complained about. If I wanted to read an impersonal academic textbook, I would. I pick up a book like this because I want to hear that personal connection, and that was clearly conveyed and the collection of stories made it much more interesting than just reading about one person's life change.

There is no pat answer in here. Because, hold the presses, there is no pat answer. What you'll find are though-provoking stories, interesting questions, and an interesting framework within which the stories are arranged. This is a book of questions more than answers. But there are individuals who have found their own answers and that's a good read. There is a bit of whiny-ness, but perhaps the book wouldn't ring true without it. People do seem to whine.

For me personally, reading about how others found their bliss, as it were, is educational. I've found my own personal bliss, for now. But I don't think that means things won't change over the years, as the kids get older and things change. I still like reading about others who have searched and found. If you're not a searcher and don't enjoy the process, the book's probably not for you. If you like the journey as much as the destination, or think perhaps there is only a journey, then this is a good read.