The Art of Meaningful Living by Christopher F. Brown, LCSW, MBA

The Art of Meaningful Living by Christopher F. Brown, LCSW, MBA. Synergy Books. ISBN #: 9780982160176

Are you living a meaningful life? How would you know if you were or weren't living passionately, fully engaged with people, places and events in your world? Are you just functioning? How have life's circumstances affected who you are? These are just a few of the questions that psychotherapist Christopher F. Brown asks people who want more from life but really don't have a clue about the next step or who don't know they could be living so much more dynamically than the life they are presently

Within five sections, entitled Start, Wisdom, Action, Resilience and The Art of Meaningful Lives, Brown invites the reader to make choices, answer pivotal questions that are catalysts for exploration one's internal and external thoughts, feelings and experiences. Sub-themes like suffering, control, understanding rather than having to be right or wrong, embracing the decisions that enable one to live passionately, slowly but definitely facing one's own and others' resistance to the evolution one begins to experience during this process and so much more are presented intelligently, wisely and creatively, with significant questions meant to start and assist in each step of the process.

Each section is accompanied by numerous works of abstract art designed to facilitate and evoke thoughts and feelings that add to the inner journey that the words compel one to follow. These may foster thoughts but just gazing at these artistic "collage" pieces is therapeutic whether one loves abstract art or not.

The Art of Meaningful Living can be the beginning of a new life, a series of new experiences that call for a range of change, whether that be minimal or dramatic, which is a natural, healthy aspect of life that will happen without our awareness or perhaps with our casual or even intense engagement. For some this text is a gift that will be complete in itself; for others it may spur on some deeper investigation with other professional or non-professional support.

Brown's book looks like a beautiful coffee-table-style book; however, it definitely could, when picked up, opened and read from your coffee table, provoke so much more than surface conversation and would be a meaningful gift to those about whom we really care.

Very nicely done, Christopher F. Brown!