The School of Life: On Failure

Once again, I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. It is one of the best books I have read this year. If you are ready to have your emotions rocked, to have a lifeline thrown to you, to re-examen your life, to step back from the ledge, then I encourage you to pick this gem up.

The book starts off with the many types of failures, addresses suicide, the meanness of the world, etc., with many examples. It also, which is very important outlines a path forward, how to cope and deal with your failure.

I had a lot of trepidation when I first started to read. Frankly, I was afraid of what I would uncover in my own self-examination. As the introduction states, this is a book about failing, messing up, disappointing others, letting ourselves down and ruining our lives. The introduction goes on to say it is a book that is intended to be read at desperate moments: when we can't stop crying, when all our hopes have been dashed and when we are too ashamed of ourselves to reach out for help. I would say, you don't have to be in that dire of of need to read this book, but if you are, it is a balm for the psyche and the soul.

For those who read this and say I have not failed and I don't need to read this, my question to you is, are you so sure? Perhaps it was a marriage, raising a kid, not being there for a friend, abandonment, a scandal at work, etc. We have all failed, some more that others and if you think you have not, live long enough and you will. Some failures are life altering and others may not alter your life on the outside, but resonate for a lifetime inside, either way it is failure and how to deal with it the book addresses. It offers hope to all of us.