Review of Embrace Life"s Randomness Your Path to Personal Reinvention and Positive Change →

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Reviewed by DECILLIS: A writer, editor, reviewer, and researcher with a Ph.D. in literature, with a specialty in narratology

This is a somewhat atypical philosophical book that uses a combination of poetry and personal anecdotes to discuss free will versus determinism. Although not structured like a typical spiritual self-help book, theloosely concatenated series of discussions- is nonetheless thought-provoking and draws on various sources. The language is polished, and there are nearly no errors, though there is at least one instance of repeated text.

There is, in effect, one core question - free will, causality, and determinism. The text circles this question in multiple ways; fundamentally, it’s an unanswerable question, and the conclusion acknowledges that there isn’t a firm answer in the text. However, just because something can’t be answered definitively doesn’t mean humans won’t spend much time trying to figure it out. It’s a reasonably central principle affecting one’s worldview, so thinking about it seems a worthwhile use of our time.

The book is an exciting validation of the art form of memoir as a means of exploring and experiencing the world. Likewise, the anecdotes taken from the author’s life are not centered on major epiphanies or milestones in his path to the present but on events that can be used as starting points for discussion. It’s an interesting approach, especially given the initial discussion about how people reshape the narratives of their lives over time.

Overall, the text is not quite what I expected,but it thoughtfully discusses some thorny existential issues andh leaves the reader with some broad action items for living a more fulfilling life.

About the 2nd Edition of Embrace LIfe’s Randomness

Embrace Life’s Randomness

Look to the subtitle to see what this book is about,

“Your Path To Personal Reinvention and Positive Change.

(oh yes, read the book too)

    This book is about our journey through life and examines why things happen and how we should view them. Some feel that all events, including human actions, are ultimately determined by causes considered external to the will. Others believe in free will and agency, feeling that their trip through life results from their own choices.

   With these two very different assumptions, is there the best code to live by? If our impact is assumed to be cause and effect based on our choices, there will still be influences from factors we cannot control. The law of attraction tells us that: You are what you attract because like attract likes. In other words, you constantly find yourself attracted to people with the same personality traits. If you are a pleasant person, you will attract happy people.

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