A clear-eyed manual for building a life of meaning in the chaos of the modern world.

So you’ve realised life is meaningless. Religion is fake, your job is pointless, society is a charade, and everyone else is just pretending things are fine when, in reality, existential despair is the only logical reaction to any of this. You’re staring into the abyss — but author and spiritual director Britt Hartley is here to pull you back from the edge.

Hartley has travelled deep into the void of nihilism herself after deconstructing her faith and every other belief system she could think of, and she knows firsthand how to rebuild a meaningful life from scratch without sugar-coating or toxic positivity. In this book, she shares the tools of philosophy, spirituality, psychology, and creativity that have helped her and countless of her clients rediscover how to live. You’ll learn how to:

• Lovingly confront the fear of death, meaninglessness, and loneliness
• Shift to a perspective based on experience, play, and quiet joy
• Unearth the core values already guiding your inner compass
• Connect deeply with other humans on their own unique journey
• And much more, all without being asked to put on a smile or believe anything unbelievable

Yes, maybe it’s true that everything is stupid, the world is on fire, and nothing matters. But as Hartley demonstrates, that only means we have the opportunity to define our own lives in the ways that matter most — and move forward with hope and purpose.