Meditations for Mortals - by Oliver Burkeman

Book Synopsis

A National Bestseller

A map for a liberating journey toward a more meaningful life--a journey that begins where we actually find ourselves, not with a fantasy of where we'd like to be--from the New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks

Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls "imperfectionism." It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.

How can we embrace our nonnegotiable limitations? Or make good decisions when there's always too much to do? How do we shed the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can "get on top of everything"? Reflecting on quotations drawn from philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, and self-help, Burkeman explores a combination of practical tools and daily shifts in perspective. The result is a life-enhancing and surprising challenge to much familiar advice--and a profound yet entertaining crash course in living more fully.

To be read either as a four-week "retreat of the mind" or devoured in one or two sittings, Meditations for Mortals will be a source of solace and inspiration, and an aid to a saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled life. In anxiety-inducing times, it is rich in truths we have never needed more.

Review Quotes

"That's the dilemma that will almost surely keep Oliver Burkeman busy: His counsel that life's problems can't really be solved only primes his audience to want more advice . . . As Burkeman's ideas seep into my bones, so--slowly--does the reality that I'm going to be bumping up against the rough edges of life every day, even every hour, until I die. The nubbiness, the initial recoil followed by a kick of recognition--yes, I'm off-balance: This is the point." --Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic

"The kind of pep talk I can get on board with . . . Burkeman's insight--always clear-eyed and jargon-free--backs up, in a reassuring and constructive way, the other sense I have on more forgiving days . . . that it's better for you and everyone around you to work with, rather than fight against, who you are now." --Simon Usborne, The Guardian

"Meditations for Mortals provides useful answers to the questions of when and why you should give up: you should do it when your optimized, productivity-hacked life starts to feel constricting, deadening, or unrealistic, so that you can get more value out of your all-too-brief existence." --Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker

"Thoughtful, level-headed and useful . . . Burkeman doesn't offer life hacks. He offers thoughts that might nudge us towards changing our underlying attitudes." --James McConnachie, The Times

"A bracing read . . . Burkeman is a friendly presence on the page . . . Stop denying the reality of whatever predicament you are in, he writes. Learn how to play in the ruins of your life." --Elaine Moore, Financial Times

"Liberating and humane." --Kirkus Reviews

"Meditations for Mortals offers a bracing and refreshing antidote for what ails high achievers. With crackling wit and counterintuitive wisdom, Burkeman shows that it's okay--and often smarter--to do less, let some goals slide, and embrace our imperfections. This book is both a comfort and a challenge--exactly what our trying times demand."
--Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret

"More than a book of ideas, Meditation for Mortals offers a practical path toward personal transformation--one that helps you sidestep the shallow allure of frenetic busyness and find a liberating joy in the limits and imperfections of life. A must-read."
--Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Slow Productivity and Deep Work

"Full of wisdom and comfort. I enjoyed every page and read it in a single sitting. This is a really important book about embracing truth and reality." --Chris van Tulleken, New York Times bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People

"I follow Oliver Burkeman's personal, literary, and journalistic adventures into wisdom with admiration and exhilaration. Now he brings us a 'retreat of the mind' in a very special book. We should all read this, preferably in the company of others--for the sake of our aching world as well as the state of our souls."
--Krista Tippett, host of On Being

"Oliver Burkeman has a way of giving you the most unexpected productivity advice exactly when you need it."
--Mark Manson, bestselling author of Everything is F*cked and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

About the Author