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No Nonsense Spirituality: All the Tools No Belief Required
In “No Nonsense Spirituality,” author and philosopher, Britt Hartley offers a groundbreaking exploration that marries the rigor of rational inquiry with the depths of human spirituality. Best of all? No faith in the unbelievable is required.
Drawing from the wellsprings of science, philosophy, religion, and psychology, this illuminating work charts a course for those who seek a meaningful life without dogma or woo. Hartley draws on her work as an atheist spiritual director to provide practical guidelines for navigating a secular approach to ritual, morality, awe, transcendence, wisdom, community, intuition, connection, and meaning that can withstand the harsh truths of reality.
With wisdom gleaned from the best of rationalism and the timeless insights of religion, “No Nonsense Spirituality” offers pathways to the good life that honor the complexity of the human experience. Engaging, thought-provoking, and deeply resonant, this book invites readers to explore a new understanding of what it means to live the good life in the middle of a culture that ranges from cold skepticism to the unhealthy truth claims of religion and pseudoscience that cannot stand up to modern sensibilities.
Drawing from the wellsprings of science, philosophy, religion, and psychology, this illuminating work charts a course for those who seek a meaningful life without dogma or woo. Hartley draws on her work as an atheist spiritual director to provide practical guidelines for navigating a secular approach to ritual, morality, awe, transcendence, wisdom, community, intuition, connection, and meaning that can withstand the harsh truths of reality.
With wisdom gleaned from the best of rationalism and the timeless insights of religion, “No Nonsense Spirituality” offers pathways to the good life that honor the complexity of the human experience. Engaging, thought-provoking, and deeply resonant, this book invites readers to explore a new understanding of what it means to live the good life in the middle of a culture that ranges from cold skepticism to the unhealthy truth claims of religion and pseudoscience that cannot stand up to modern sensibilities.
244 pages, Paperback
Published April 10, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
May 31, 2024
You know that feeling where you had a life before you read a book and then there’s the life you have after? This feels like that moment. That book.
I was raised Christian and left the church after my grandfather died in 2012. Then, I spent a year exploring spirituality (psychics, channelers, NDEs) and settled upon Higher Self, the Universe, and Spirit Guides as the new truth.
For the last year or so, something felt off. Chapter 9 “Intuition and the Occult” put words to gut feelings I’ve been bypassing for the past year.
Chapter 3, Order and Chaos, helped me realize how I stumbled upon all this confusion with a belief system I’ve practiced for the last 12 years.
Chapter 4, Rituals and Calendars, helped me understand why what I’ve done for the past 12 years gave me peace.
Chapter 5, Awe and Contemplation, gave me ideas on how to keep some practices if I wish while also offering me new practices if those don’t resonate anymore as ways to drop in and connect with life.
Chapter 6, Awakening the Feminine, helped me pay attention to, lean into, and value my feminine traits.
I could go on and on.
Thank you, Britt Hartley, for this book. I will not go back to sleep.
I was raised Christian and left the church after my grandfather died in 2012. Then, I spent a year exploring spirituality (psychics, channelers, NDEs) and settled upon Higher Self, the Universe, and Spirit Guides as the new truth.
For the last year or so, something felt off. Chapter 9 “Intuition and the Occult” put words to gut feelings I’ve been bypassing for the past year.
Chapter 3, Order and Chaos, helped me realize how I stumbled upon all this confusion with a belief system I’ve practiced for the last 12 years.
Chapter 4, Rituals and Calendars, helped me understand why what I’ve done for the past 12 years gave me peace.
Chapter 5, Awe and Contemplation, gave me ideas on how to keep some practices if I wish while also offering me new practices if those don’t resonate anymore as ways to drop in and connect with life.
Chapter 6, Awakening the Feminine, helped me pay attention to, lean into, and value my feminine traits.
I could go on and on.
Thank you, Britt Hartley, for this book. I will not go back to sleep.
June 8, 2024
I read No Nonsense Spirituality for a real life book club. I hated it. It was awful and earned my first very rare one star rating of the year. A quick rundown of some of the things I loathed about this book in no particular order:
-The writing is extremely poor. Really, it just wasn’t pleasant to read or even very coherent.
-There are several typos. My favorite typo, though, was where she wrote oxycontin instead of oxytocin: “When we connect with characters in a story, our brains release oxycontin, which is associated with empathy and relationship building.”
-The book was so incredibly rambly and repetitive. So much was stream of consciousness talking in circles. There were also random topic changes without warning, often going back to what was being said before the topic change and also without warning.
-It’s so boring. So incredibly boring. I never DNF books and if it wasn’t for being a book club book I absolutely would’ve DNF’d this one. It was just that bad.
-It could’ve been so much shorter. Basically, find spirituality wherever you want and in everything you can. The end. Sorry I spoiled it for you.
-For someone who repeatedly says she is an atheist the author talks about finding God, even if it’s not religion God, a whole lot which I just found very strange.
-I couldn’t figure out if the intended audience is exmormons or general non-religious people seeking spirituality. The Mormon issues she brings up are very specific and I get that even though she says she’s “studied” pretty much everything it’s really Mormonism she’s truly familiar with. There were a couple attacks on the Mormon church and, really, attack away. I get it. It’s just that they were very much out of place and nonsensical in context making me think she’s either not as deconstructed as she claims or she’s actually writing just for exmormons.
-The author is on the young side, especially for presenting herself as an expert in finding non-religious spirituality, but thinks she is incredibly wise and has all the answers. I do wonder if as she gets older if she’ll come to be embarrassed by what she wrote in this book.
-The author thinks a whole lot of herself and comes across as arrogant and condescending.
She got a few things absolutely wrong which makes her thinking she’s so incredibly smart rather amusing. For example, she tells the (false, but often repeated) story that the Lord changed Saul’s name to Paul on the road to Damascus. The problem is that’s not supported by the New Testament story Paul told of what happened. As was the case with many people at the time, he had two names. Saul was his Hebrew name. Paul was his Roman name. He always had both names. He just began using the Latinized version when he started mostly preaching in the Roman world.
-It really feels like the author left a high demand religion but couldn’t quite get comfortable and so went down an adjacent but also high demand path.
-As Meredith Brooks once sang, “Pop psychology words don’t mean anything, When you throw them around to be cool.” That’s pretty much how I feel about this book (actually, go listen to Cosmic Woo Woo in its entirety and you’ll get more out of it about how to live your life than you will from this book).
-I’m truly not sure what the goal of the book is. It’s very random like she threw together stuff she’s said on TikTok (apparently she’s a popular exmo TikToker… I’ve never run into her videos though so I can’t be sure whether what I’m thinking here is true or not). As a self-help book, or a book intended to help people find spirituality without religion, it’s a failure. But I think that was her goal. Maybe.
-The book is full of very black and white thinking. Repeatedly she indicates either you find spirituality (which you can find in everything) or you want to die (she really likes the term nihilism). Again this feels like a not fully deconstructed exmormon talking.
-It was almost like she was trying to create a whole new religion (or maybe fill in what she lost when she left her very high demand religion) out of spirituality. I have a friend who left Mormonism years ago and dove into stuff like the author describes and ended up just as deep in a high demand something. She has cautioned others to not do that because it’s just as unhealthy. My friend would probably have been much better at writing this book than the author to be honest.
-So much of what she said is just incredibly obvious. If she didn’t already know this stuff and do this stuff before “studying,” well, I feel sorry for her.
-By the end my brain was screaming “Oh my gosh shut up already!” She clearly could not figure out how to end the book. She kept talking in circles seemingly forever until she finally, mercifully, quit writing.
Needless to say I don’t even sorta recommend this book at all. Just skip it. After all, I’ve already spoiled what its trying to say thereby saving you the almost ten hours of life that I’ll never get back because I read the whole thing.
-The writing is extremely poor. Really, it just wasn’t pleasant to read or even very coherent.
-There are several typos. My favorite typo, though, was where she wrote oxycontin instead of oxytocin: “When we connect with characters in a story, our brains release oxycontin, which is associated with empathy and relationship building.”
-The book was so incredibly rambly and repetitive. So much was stream of consciousness talking in circles. There were also random topic changes without warning, often going back to what was being said before the topic change and also without warning.
-It’s so boring. So incredibly boring. I never DNF books and if it wasn’t for being a book club book I absolutely would’ve DNF’d this one. It was just that bad.
-It could’ve been so much shorter. Basically, find spirituality wherever you want and in everything you can. The end. Sorry I spoiled it for you.
-For someone who repeatedly says she is an atheist the author talks about finding God, even if it’s not religion God, a whole lot which I just found very strange.
-I couldn’t figure out if the intended audience is exmormons or general non-religious people seeking spirituality. The Mormon issues she brings up are very specific and I get that even though she says she’s “studied” pretty much everything it’s really Mormonism she’s truly familiar with. There were a couple attacks on the Mormon church and, really, attack away. I get it. It’s just that they were very much out of place and nonsensical in context making me think she’s either not as deconstructed as she claims or she’s actually writing just for exmormons.
-The author is on the young side, especially for presenting herself as an expert in finding non-religious spirituality, but thinks she is incredibly wise and has all the answers. I do wonder if as she gets older if she’ll come to be embarrassed by what she wrote in this book.
-The author thinks a whole lot of herself and comes across as arrogant and condescending.
She got a few things absolutely wrong which makes her thinking she’s so incredibly smart rather amusing. For example, she tells the (false, but often repeated) story that the Lord changed Saul’s name to Paul on the road to Damascus. The problem is that’s not supported by the New Testament story Paul told of what happened. As was the case with many people at the time, he had two names. Saul was his Hebrew name. Paul was his Roman name. He always had both names. He just began using the Latinized version when he started mostly preaching in the Roman world.
-It really feels like the author left a high demand religion but couldn’t quite get comfortable and so went down an adjacent but also high demand path.
-As Meredith Brooks once sang, “Pop psychology words don’t mean anything, When you throw them around to be cool.” That’s pretty much how I feel about this book (actually, go listen to Cosmic Woo Woo in its entirety and you’ll get more out of it about how to live your life than you will from this book).
-I’m truly not sure what the goal of the book is. It’s very random like she threw together stuff she’s said on TikTok (apparently she’s a popular exmo TikToker… I’ve never run into her videos though so I can’t be sure whether what I’m thinking here is true or not). As a self-help book, or a book intended to help people find spirituality without religion, it’s a failure. But I think that was her goal. Maybe.
-The book is full of very black and white thinking. Repeatedly she indicates either you find spirituality (which you can find in everything) or you want to die (she really likes the term nihilism). Again this feels like a not fully deconstructed exmormon talking.
-It was almost like she was trying to create a whole new religion (or maybe fill in what she lost when she left her very high demand religion) out of spirituality. I have a friend who left Mormonism years ago and dove into stuff like the author describes and ended up just as deep in a high demand something. She has cautioned others to not do that because it’s just as unhealthy. My friend would probably have been much better at writing this book than the author to be honest.
-So much of what she said is just incredibly obvious. If she didn’t already know this stuff and do this stuff before “studying,” well, I feel sorry for her.
-By the end my brain was screaming “Oh my gosh shut up already!” She clearly could not figure out how to end the book. She kept talking in circles seemingly forever until she finally, mercifully, quit writing.
Needless to say I don’t even sorta recommend this book at all. Just skip it. After all, I’ve already spoiled what its trying to say thereby saving you the almost ten hours of life that I’ll never get back because I read the whole thing.
May 21, 2024
Felt the book itself could have done with a bit more editing and developing. Some parts read like stream of consciousness/conversational only to move into more formal and reference rooted discourse. So as a reader it was a bit difficult to switch back and forth but the concepts were really interesting. I think I would have liked some more expansion and delving into references and maybe less metaphors, but that’s just a personal preference.
December 14, 2025
Loksins fann ég bók um andleg málefni þar sem ég er bara JÁ. Milljón sinnum JÁ!
Þessi kona ólst upp sem mormóni, missti trúna að hluta til, fékk MA gráðu í guðfræði, fór niður í dimma, níhilíska kanínuholu, missti trúna endanlega, prófaði alls kyns new age trúarbrögð, hóf doktorsnám þar sem hún rannsakar andleg málefni frá sjónarhorni leitandi trúleysingja.
Hún fór í gegn um angry atheist tímabil sem unglingur en fannst trúleysi án nokkurs konar spirituality vera sorgleg tilvera. Allavega trúleysi sem snýst bara um að hata trúarbrögð. Í staðinn notar hún tól sem eru notuð í alls kyns trúarbrögðum án þess að nokkur guðleg íhlutun komi til. Þannig er til dæmis hægt að nota tarotspil til þess að stunda innri íhugun, bara athuga hvaða hugsanir koma upp þegar spil er dregið, kíkja aðeins á undirmeðvitundina. Allt án þess að trúa því að spilin búi yfir töfrum.
Mér líður eiginlega eins og þessi bók hafi verið skrifuð fyrir akkúrat mig, akkúrat núna.
Það er ekki hægt að nálgast hana á Íslandi nema sem hljóðbók en já, ég mæli með.
Þessi kona ólst upp sem mormóni, missti trúna að hluta til, fékk MA gráðu í guðfræði, fór niður í dimma, níhilíska kanínuholu, missti trúna endanlega, prófaði alls kyns new age trúarbrögð, hóf doktorsnám þar sem hún rannsakar andleg málefni frá sjónarhorni leitandi trúleysingja.
Hún fór í gegn um angry atheist tímabil sem unglingur en fannst trúleysi án nokkurs konar spirituality vera sorgleg tilvera. Allavega trúleysi sem snýst bara um að hata trúarbrögð. Í staðinn notar hún tól sem eru notuð í alls kyns trúarbrögðum án þess að nokkur guðleg íhlutun komi til. Þannig er til dæmis hægt að nota tarotspil til þess að stunda innri íhugun, bara athuga hvaða hugsanir koma upp þegar spil er dregið, kíkja aðeins á undirmeðvitundina. Allt án þess að trúa því að spilin búi yfir töfrum.
Mér líður eiginlega eins og þessi bók hafi verið skrifuð fyrir akkúrat mig, akkúrat núna.
Það er ekki hægt að nálgast hana á Íslandi nema sem hljóðbók en já, ég mæli með.
June 15, 2025
It’s difficult for me to describe what this book means to me. It’s like Hartley crawled into my brain and wrote a book to answer so many of the questions I didn’t even know I’ve been asking.
If you look past the self-publishing vibes & occasional spelling mistake, you’ll find a book that is full of love, hope, and hard but delicious truths.
Essential reading for anyone who has left the church, is sceptical of the obsession with astrology, or is just seeking greater depth in their life.
If you look past the self-publishing vibes & occasional spelling mistake, you’ll find a book that is full of love, hope, and hard but delicious truths.
Essential reading for anyone who has left the church, is sceptical of the obsession with astrology, or is just seeking greater depth in their life.
January 6, 2025
I loved a lot of the ideas in this book. I really enjoyed the last few chapters. I did feel like the book could have been edited more thoroughly and I would have appreciated more organization within the chapters, like maybe titled sections.
April 7, 2025
I love Britt and especially the content she has made on Tik Tok. I was excited to read her book and I’m glad I did. It was fun to read the long format of a lot of the content I’d consumed and learn quite a few new tools and helpful stories along the way. If you are trying to find meaning in a post-religious life I’d definitely recommend reading this and trying out the tools and journaling prompts. I’m a bit new in my path but I’m so grateful to have started my second life and to be able to find content like this that helps you build a life worth living.
I will note that it could have used some more editing. Many typos, grammar and some formatting issues. Some parts I feel could have been more succinct as well but that is a personal preference. I’d prefer something that is more to the point and less repetitive unless the extra length is to provide more supporting evidence and published data.
I will note that it could have used some more editing. Many typos, grammar and some formatting issues. Some parts I feel could have been more succinct as well but that is a personal preference. I’d prefer something that is more to the point and less repetitive unless the extra length is to provide more supporting evidence and published data.
November 15, 2025
my broken ex-Christian heart thanks Brittney Hartley for this beautiful and very hopeful book 🥲
July 12, 2025
This book found me in a a phase of suffering and slight nihilism. I deeply related to Brittney’s spiritual journey..it came to me exactly when I needed it. If you feel pain, this book feels like a warm embrace-it allowed me to take a bit of a breath amidst the suffocating chaos I felt.
I think Brittney Hartley is a remarkable woman. Deconstructing one’s religious upbringing, leaving everything behind and facing existential despair is not for the weak.
I loved this book.
I think Brittney Hartley is a remarkable woman. Deconstructing one’s religious upbringing, leaving everything behind and facing existential despair is not for the weak.
I loved this book.
January 8, 2025
This book was written for people like me. If you seek spirituality, deep connection, to play in the unknown, but can't get behind the dogma of religion and mainstream spiritual practices, this book can help reframe the way you think about all spiritual tools and how you can (and must) be the authority of your spiritual journey. Brittney has a way of encapsulating ideas into beautiful and poignant sentences that you'll want to write down somewhere for later pondering.
September 29, 2024
This book hit me at the right time. I recommend this book to those looking for accessible spiritual practices, without the precondition of believing (deliberately) unbelievable claims. If organized high demand religion has failed you (as it has many), this is a great place to start.
April 29, 2025
Lots of interesting insights; she is an atheist so we differ in that respect but it does instigate a lot of thought-provoking ideas.
August 14, 2025
This is a book I've enjoyed very much reading, as it's an excellent door to a world of spiritual tools and ideas that make life make sense. The perspective is very atheist-friendly, which is mainly mine, but it has plenty of religion and traditions-based knowledge (let's call it that way) that makes it a bit uncomfortable if you don't read with an open mind.
I personally really needed a book like this, with simple and yet powerful ideas about what spiritual experiences actually are and how you can invest in creating your own path and meaning. In the end, the big claim of this book is that spirituality is more present than what we think and that it's a very personal thing to feel, while at the same time it's what helps us connect with the bigger world. Along the chapters of the book, this claim is explored through different perspectives and multiple ideas and tools are provided, both for the curious and for the people really in need. At the end of each chapter one can find a short list of journaling questions to explore the contents of the chapter from our own introspection, serving as a very useful guide to search for answers and a possible path.
I'll need to complain about the fact that this book is self-edited: though not many, there are multiple errata in people's names and a couple of sentences don't make much sense. Also, certain ideas get repeated too much. It felt to me like reading a blog sometimes: interesting but quickly written and with not necessarily the best structure for the message. I can handle it, but I prefer to warn the rest just in case.
Overall, it's a very insightful book that presents a very deep topic in a very practical way but also pointing to places to continue our journey ourselves. I highly recommend it if you have a minimum curiosity on how spiritual practices are outside of standard religion. In fact, I would recommend it to anyone who would listen, because books like this one only can make us more understanding and better with each other.
I personally really needed a book like this, with simple and yet powerful ideas about what spiritual experiences actually are and how you can invest in creating your own path and meaning. In the end, the big claim of this book is that spirituality is more present than what we think and that it's a very personal thing to feel, while at the same time it's what helps us connect with the bigger world. Along the chapters of the book, this claim is explored through different perspectives and multiple ideas and tools are provided, both for the curious and for the people really in need. At the end of each chapter one can find a short list of journaling questions to explore the contents of the chapter from our own introspection, serving as a very useful guide to search for answers and a possible path.
I'll need to complain about the fact that this book is self-edited: though not many, there are multiple errata in people's names and a couple of sentences don't make much sense. Also, certain ideas get repeated too much. It felt to me like reading a blog sometimes: interesting but quickly written and with not necessarily the best structure for the message. I can handle it, but I prefer to warn the rest just in case.
Overall, it's a very insightful book that presents a very deep topic in a very practical way but also pointing to places to continue our journey ourselves. I highly recommend it if you have a minimum curiosity on how spiritual practices are outside of standard religion. In fact, I would recommend it to anyone who would listen, because books like this one only can make us more understanding and better with each other.
October 9, 2025
This book might feel especially relevant to someone who has left a formal religion or belief in an outside deity, but is still curious how to incorporate the positive aspects of spiritual practices and/or spaces into their life. Britt argues that is still possible, even as a secular humanist or atheist, and argues that it’s healthy to find the “sacred” on the journey to creating meaning and purpose in one’s own life. I found Britt on TikTok and went on to read this book in hopes of understanding more of what she’s describing, and I feel like she does a good job of giving the reader a starting point of discovering/reprioritizing one’s perspective to create these experiences for themselves.
I think having a hard copy of this book is probably more valuable than an audio simply because of the journal prompt she has at the end of some of the chapters. I think the journal prompts are probably the most valuable part of the book and gives the reader more practical exercises to move through in their journey of self exploration
I still think there’s more room to simplify some of the large ideas into more practical and daily steps. But I appreciate Britt’s humility and drive to understand, while holding deep empathy for people in all faith circumstances.
I think having a hard copy of this book is probably more valuable than an audio simply because of the journal prompt she has at the end of some of the chapters. I think the journal prompts are probably the most valuable part of the book and gives the reader more practical exercises to move through in their journey of self exploration
I still think there’s more room to simplify some of the large ideas into more practical and daily steps. But I appreciate Britt’s humility and drive to understand, while holding deep empathy for people in all faith circumstances.
October 29, 2025
Keeping this on my nightstand for the foreseeable future! Thank you for writing, Brittney, and for all of the amazing journal prompts; this book felt like a warm hug. I’ll meet you all at the field :)
August 25, 2024
There are some great concepts and exercises in this book that I'd like to incorporate, but overall it didn't land for me
November 21, 2024
Simply beautiful. Definitely a book I will be reading-reading and referring to often.
Read
December 14, 2024(This book somehow has the feel that she wants it both ways. Like, its important to pantomime religion, but you dont need to believe it. I dunno. Maybe she has it figured out.)
There are 3 ways to relate to the spiritual in the west - organized religion, new age spirituality/occult, skepticism/atheism
Religion is the distinction between the sacred and the profane
A tribe of 150 cant stay together without a shared myth
Religious adherents are fading but the religious mind isnt
Religion exists to:
Hold communities together
Help us cope with pain
Religion is a mind virus
(Is Thanatos atheism as well?)
U dont need the old gods for a meaningful secular spirituality. U can meditate, have community, experience awe, have ritual and morality, love and purpose.
Spirituality refers to awe and the connection to self and outside self. Religion refers to the codification of that experience.
Spiritual adolescents are leas addicted, depressed, suicidal.
There is no pain greater than the realization that you never lived.
Humans need order and chaos. Roots in the earth, wings in the sky.
Deconstruction is chaosing the order. Its growth and it feels like dying.
Our fear of death compels us to believe we live forever. We breed so our dna lives forever
Our fear of freedom compels us to invent moral authorities who assume responsibility
Our fear of loneliness compels us to join tribes and believe in interconnectedness
Our fear of meaninlessness compels us to ask the question- what is the point?
Religion only builds structure
Skepticism only tears it down
What people help/limit you to build the life of your dreams
Ritual is the act of sanctifying action. Ex. - have a funeral for an aspect of yourself you are ready to grieve
Prayer as - wishlist to the sky genie
Awe:
The perception of vastness
The need for accommodation
Comes from being still, in nature, music, creating art (mandala) design, moral
Beauty, experiencing birth/death, collective ritual, movement practice
“When it comes to statements of metaphysics, science must be given first priority” (blech.. quote - As Terence McKenna observed, “Modern science is based on the principle: ‘Give us one free miracle and we’ll explain the rest.’ The one free miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing.” Rupert Sheldrake)
Gratitude flows naturally from the experience of awe
We deified mary cuz father god is scary and we miss mommy
Many men need to dissolve their ego. Many women need to develop theirs. Its a spiritual practice to take up space, have preferences, get angry.
Is life worth living? - Camus
Life is a game, how are you going to play it?
Are you playing life or is life playing you? Work is play
The simplest way to combat evil is to not participate in lies
Belong so fully to yourself that your willing to stand alone in the dangerous but breathtaking wilderness
So many of us write our life story copying off someone elses work and wondering why life seems pointless
What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
Morality tied to a god, or to his punishment isnt as honorable as empathy for another human being and trying to reduce their suffering
If u defer to a book, or a prophet, you are still using tour inner compass to do so
Redemption through a scapegoat is moral evasion, not moral goodness
Science tells us that the path to happiness means most wont be happy if we act like assholes. And then we should make laws to curb the behavior of those w no moral compass
Astrology has value from what we infuse into it
Imagine yourself as 5 and asking, “what did you need to say, what did you need to hear?” To just review the trauma is to risk being retraumatized. You have to rewrite the story
People can use spirituality as a way to judge others “less enlightened”
Invite “mara” (the devil/shadow) to tea
Do you know all the parts of you that you try to hide from the world?
Eckhart- theologians may quarrel, but the mystical of the world speak the same language
A mystic reads stories like they are all of the characters
What do you feel spiritually hungry for?
To build community, we have to be vulnerable ourselves, and provide safe space for others to do the same
Boundaries between you and others are illusory. Love is the recognition of your shared essence
In movies we obsess over the run up to the relationship, like running up to the starting line of a marathon being more valuable than the race
The hero has to face the inmost cave, the place they are most afraid of
The heroines journey - to reclaim fragmented aspects of herself
There is no greater pain than bearing your untold story- angelou
Self transcendence - moving beyond the limits of ego to attain a connection with the greater whole
Religion is often the best place to hide from god, spirituality is often the best place to grow an inflated ego
There are 3 ways to relate to the spiritual in the west - organized religion, new age spirituality/occult, skepticism/atheism
Religion is the distinction between the sacred and the profane
A tribe of 150 cant stay together without a shared myth
Religious adherents are fading but the religious mind isnt
Religion exists to:
Hold communities together
Help us cope with pain
Religion is a mind virus
(Is Thanatos atheism as well?)
U dont need the old gods for a meaningful secular spirituality. U can meditate, have community, experience awe, have ritual and morality, love and purpose.
Spirituality refers to awe and the connection to self and outside self. Religion refers to the codification of that experience.
Spiritual adolescents are leas addicted, depressed, suicidal.
There is no pain greater than the realization that you never lived.
Humans need order and chaos. Roots in the earth, wings in the sky.
Deconstruction is chaosing the order. Its growth and it feels like dying.
Our fear of death compels us to believe we live forever. We breed so our dna lives forever
Our fear of freedom compels us to invent moral authorities who assume responsibility
Our fear of loneliness compels us to join tribes and believe in interconnectedness
Our fear of meaninlessness compels us to ask the question- what is the point?
Religion only builds structure
Skepticism only tears it down
What people help/limit you to build the life of your dreams
Ritual is the act of sanctifying action. Ex. - have a funeral for an aspect of yourself you are ready to grieve
Prayer as - wishlist to the sky genie
Awe:
The perception of vastness
The need for accommodation
Comes from being still, in nature, music, creating art (mandala) design, moral
Beauty, experiencing birth/death, collective ritual, movement practice
“When it comes to statements of metaphysics, science must be given first priority” (blech.. quote - As Terence McKenna observed, “Modern science is based on the principle: ‘Give us one free miracle and we’ll explain the rest.’ The one free miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing.” Rupert Sheldrake)
Gratitude flows naturally from the experience of awe
We deified mary cuz father god is scary and we miss mommy
Many men need to dissolve their ego. Many women need to develop theirs. Its a spiritual practice to take up space, have preferences, get angry.
Is life worth living? - Camus
Life is a game, how are you going to play it?
Are you playing life or is life playing you? Work is play
The simplest way to combat evil is to not participate in lies
Belong so fully to yourself that your willing to stand alone in the dangerous but breathtaking wilderness
So many of us write our life story copying off someone elses work and wondering why life seems pointless
What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
Morality tied to a god, or to his punishment isnt as honorable as empathy for another human being and trying to reduce their suffering
If u defer to a book, or a prophet, you are still using tour inner compass to do so
Redemption through a scapegoat is moral evasion, not moral goodness
Science tells us that the path to happiness means most wont be happy if we act like assholes. And then we should make laws to curb the behavior of those w no moral compass
Astrology has value from what we infuse into it
Imagine yourself as 5 and asking, “what did you need to say, what did you need to hear?” To just review the trauma is to risk being retraumatized. You have to rewrite the story
People can use spirituality as a way to judge others “less enlightened”
Invite “mara” (the devil/shadow) to tea
Do you know all the parts of you that you try to hide from the world?
Eckhart- theologians may quarrel, but the mystical of the world speak the same language
A mystic reads stories like they are all of the characters
What do you feel spiritually hungry for?
To build community, we have to be vulnerable ourselves, and provide safe space for others to do the same
Boundaries between you and others are illusory. Love is the recognition of your shared essence
In movies we obsess over the run up to the relationship, like running up to the starting line of a marathon being more valuable than the race
The hero has to face the inmost cave, the place they are most afraid of
The heroines journey - to reclaim fragmented aspects of herself
There is no greater pain than bearing your untold story- angelou
Self transcendence - moving beyond the limits of ego to attain a connection with the greater whole
Religion is often the best place to hide from god, spirituality is often the best place to grow an inflated ego
April 6, 2025
Brittney Hartley has provided the world with a breath of fresh air in the space of atheism and in the space of spirituality. I had to force myself to put this book down, to take time to really appreciate and internalize the words she wrote.
I wish I found this book sooner and I truly hope she has plans on writing again. She speaks of the chasm that arises between religion and atheism, how many people feel that there is something missing when they leave their religion - which seems to be something many atheists (including myself for a long time!) do not want to admit. But she is absolutely right!
Human beings have a deep need for rituals, experiencing awe, having communities, understanding what their own core values are. We have an enormous capacity for morality and empathy. And Brittney has covered it all.
This book really is "all the tools, no faith required"
She gives us many examples of tools we can use in our own lives, to deepen our connection with ourselves and the world around us. She also references many other texts and I had to make a list of the ones that seemed most interesting to me - immediately adding them to my TBR.
I absolutely adored this book and know it will be one I go back to, time and time again.
I have only two issues with this book and frankly neither of them compare to the deep pleasure and insight gained while reading it.
My first problem would be some editing issues. There were a few words misspelled throughout the book. ("On" instead of "one" / "OxyContin" instead of "oxytocin") but again, in the context of the sentence you can tell 100% it's a simple spelling error. Towards the end of the book there was some page formatting that was also weird - but again, who cares? In the grand scheme of things, I truly think this book has been a wonderful starting point for me to live my life with INTENTION and more authentically. I can get over a few spelling errors.
My second issue would be the amount of references to popular media, they serve a VERY helpful and needed reference guide. But overdone slightly in the sense that we don't need multiple references for each example. The book is like 220 pages long, and if all these references were put together it would probably take up less than 5/6 pages but again - I'm being nitpicky so to say.
When you truly love something, it is deserving of critique. There's no sense critiquing something if you don't care about it, and this book I throughly love and respect.
I think an ARC reader or another round of edits could have prevented the above mentioned as well.
Overall a 10/10 and I know I will be suggesting this book to everyone I know!
I wish I found this book sooner and I truly hope she has plans on writing again. She speaks of the chasm that arises between religion and atheism, how many people feel that there is something missing when they leave their religion - which seems to be something many atheists (including myself for a long time!) do not want to admit. But she is absolutely right!
Human beings have a deep need for rituals, experiencing awe, having communities, understanding what their own core values are. We have an enormous capacity for morality and empathy. And Brittney has covered it all.
This book really is "all the tools, no faith required"
She gives us many examples of tools we can use in our own lives, to deepen our connection with ourselves and the world around us. She also references many other texts and I had to make a list of the ones that seemed most interesting to me - immediately adding them to my TBR.
I absolutely adored this book and know it will be one I go back to, time and time again.
I have only two issues with this book and frankly neither of them compare to the deep pleasure and insight gained while reading it.
My first problem would be some editing issues. There were a few words misspelled throughout the book. ("On" instead of "one" / "OxyContin" instead of "oxytocin") but again, in the context of the sentence you can tell 100% it's a simple spelling error. Towards the end of the book there was some page formatting that was also weird - but again, who cares? In the grand scheme of things, I truly think this book has been a wonderful starting point for me to live my life with INTENTION and more authentically. I can get over a few spelling errors.
My second issue would be the amount of references to popular media, they serve a VERY helpful and needed reference guide. But overdone slightly in the sense that we don't need multiple references for each example. The book is like 220 pages long, and if all these references were put together it would probably take up less than 5/6 pages but again - I'm being nitpicky so to say.
When you truly love something, it is deserving of critique. There's no sense critiquing something if you don't care about it, and this book I throughly love and respect.
I think an ARC reader or another round of edits could have prevented the above mentioned as well.
Overall a 10/10 and I know I will be suggesting this book to everyone I know!
May 13, 2025
Found Britt on TikTok and felt like she was speaking my language in her videos! I saw that she had a book and absolutely needed to read it. I immensely enjoyed this book and found myself finally finding words for my relationship to spirituality. I think this book would be really useful for people who are stepping away from religion or have always felt like a spiritual atheist.
It doesn’t get the full 5 stars because there are a few rambling parts that I think could be condensed and overall the book could use a bit of editing…but this book is a very useful and enlightening read with great prompting questions that really make you think. highly recommend!
It doesn’t get the full 5 stars because there are a few rambling parts that I think could be condensed and overall the book could use a bit of editing…but this book is a very useful and enlightening read with great prompting questions that really make you think. highly recommend!
June 11, 2024
"...if spirituality were a pill, it would be the most effective pill against risky behavior, addiction, depression, and suicide."
There are many research-proven benefits to spiritual practice. *None of them* are contingent on literal belief. They also do not require formal religious institutions. If I could only recommend a single resource to someone looking to rebuild their spiritual life, it would be this book.
There are many research-proven benefits to spiritual practice. *None of them* are contingent on literal belief. They also do not require formal religious institutions. If I could only recommend a single resource to someone looking to rebuild their spiritual life, it would be this book.
August 26, 2024
My favorite part of this book was the journal questions at the end of each chapter. I enjoyed the self reflection. This book doesn’t feel like a self help book with some author telling you how they have it all figured out and you too can have it all figured out. It more feels like talking to a friend about spiritually and them saying “have you tried this?” “What do you think about this?” “I have heard this thing works for some people”
March 29, 2025
I really like what this book was going for, and I think the author does provide some useful tools for people seeking to rebuild a spiritual life after deconstruction, but I could not get past the typos on nearly every page. It would have benefited from another round of editing!
July 28, 2025
Hm. You never know what you're going to get when you read a book by a TikTok influencer. I got a poorly edited personal account and self-reflection prompts for a journey either out of toxic faith or toxic nihilism towards an a-thestic approach to individualized spirituality.
That being said, this resonated with me. I've enjoyed Brittney's content online, and though this didn't include everything that I'm interested in from her videos, (I find the anthropological question of why humans invented God(s) and what different types of God(s) say about the people who invented them incredibly interesting), there was some nuggets of wisdom. The case was made for a spirituality practice inspired by tools from all religions, mysticism, woo, and nihilism/atheism alike for a practice that meets each individual's psychological needs for community, rituals, awe, purpose, mindfulness, and service, without the dogma, rules, un-verifiable truth claims, or social control of organized religions. Hartley self-identifies as a spiritual atheist, and I vibe with that and wanted to learn more.
I took this book with a grain of salt. Mostly because I am at the very beginning of exploring this topic personally, but also because I exercise an extreme amount of skepticism around anything resembling spirituality. But this book left ample room for and explicitly encouraged that exact skepticism.
Unexpectedly, this book was a great pair to All About Love: New Visions which I happened to be listening to on audiobook at the same time. Hooks wrote about many of the same themes about 'love' being work, being an ongoing practice, being something nourishing to core of our spirit:
“The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth… Love is as love does. Love is an act of will-namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.” - All About Love: New Visions
Hooks defined spiritual life:
“Spiritual life is first and foremost about commitment to a way of thinking and behaving that honors principles of inter-being and interconnectedness. When I speak of the spiritual, I refer to the recognition within everyone that there is a place of mystery in our lives where forces that are beyond human desire or will alter circumstances and/or guide and direct us. I call these forces divine spirit. When we choose to lead a spirit-filled life, we recognize and celebrate the presence of transcendent spirits.” - All About Love: New Visions
Though hooks wrote more eloquently about the radical power of spirituality in manifesting love, Hartley gave a more structured outline for how to achieve this if one only has experience with structured religion, or unstructured nihilism. I don't know if Hartley's tools provided me all the answers I was looking for, but then again, she and I would likely agree that it would be a cultish red flag if it did.
That being said, this resonated with me. I've enjoyed Brittney's content online, and though this didn't include everything that I'm interested in from her videos, (I find the anthropological question of why humans invented God(s) and what different types of God(s) say about the people who invented them incredibly interesting), there was some nuggets of wisdom. The case was made for a spirituality practice inspired by tools from all religions, mysticism, woo, and nihilism/atheism alike for a practice that meets each individual's psychological needs for community, rituals, awe, purpose, mindfulness, and service, without the dogma, rules, un-verifiable truth claims, or social control of organized religions. Hartley self-identifies as a spiritual atheist, and I vibe with that and wanted to learn more.
I took this book with a grain of salt. Mostly because I am at the very beginning of exploring this topic personally, but also because I exercise an extreme amount of skepticism around anything resembling spirituality. But this book left ample room for and explicitly encouraged that exact skepticism.
Unexpectedly, this book was a great pair to All About Love: New Visions which I happened to be listening to on audiobook at the same time. Hooks wrote about many of the same themes about 'love' being work, being an ongoing practice, being something nourishing to core of our spirit:
“The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth… Love is as love does. Love is an act of will-namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.” - All About Love: New Visions
Hooks defined spiritual life:
“Spiritual life is first and foremost about commitment to a way of thinking and behaving that honors principles of inter-being and interconnectedness. When I speak of the spiritual, I refer to the recognition within everyone that there is a place of mystery in our lives where forces that are beyond human desire or will alter circumstances and/or guide and direct us. I call these forces divine spirit. When we choose to lead a spirit-filled life, we recognize and celebrate the presence of transcendent spirits.” - All About Love: New Visions
Though hooks wrote more eloquently about the radical power of spirituality in manifesting love, Hartley gave a more structured outline for how to achieve this if one only has experience with structured religion, or unstructured nihilism. I don't know if Hartley's tools provided me all the answers I was looking for, but then again, she and I would likely agree that it would be a cultish red flag if it did.
May 9, 2024
"Organized religion only has tools for structure, and skepticism only has tools for tearing down. But the reality is that we need both... Secular spirituality allows for a place of flow in between order and chaos because it provides tools for the monsters of chaos and tools for deconstructing when order become a suffocating box."
This book addresses a topic that is largely ignored but desperately needs to be addressed in today's society. The topic of spirituality free from religious dogma or the supernatural. Alain de Botton has argued that once we stop believing religions have been handed down from above we can start asking interesting questions about what religions do that give meaning to life and help us live in harmony with others. To this end, the author discusses important tools such as ritual, awe, contemplation, meaning, morality, and narrative, among others.
Now the book is not prefect. There are a couple of topics that begin to fall into the supernatural realm. For instance the author says that there is scientific evidence to show that reiki "works." However, it appears that these studies lack rigor (see Lee, MS; Pittler, MH; Ernst, E (2008). "Effects of reiki in clinical practice: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials". International Journal of Clinical Practice (Systematic Review). 62 (6): 947–54). Another minor complaint is regarding the topic of transcendence. She discusses it's importance, and I certainly agree, but she never defines the word, which is rife with varied interpretations. For me it has nothing to do with connecting to God or some universal consciousness, but reaching outside ourselves to connect with people and the natural world. Perhaps that's what she means, but I'm not sure.
Despite these minor complaints the book is well worth your time to read. While most of the topics were not new to me she has good insight into each one. I've highlighted a number of passages and will go back and review them again I'm sure.
This book addresses a topic that is largely ignored but desperately needs to be addressed in today's society. The topic of spirituality free from religious dogma or the supernatural. Alain de Botton has argued that once we stop believing religions have been handed down from above we can start asking interesting questions about what religions do that give meaning to life and help us live in harmony with others. To this end, the author discusses important tools such as ritual, awe, contemplation, meaning, morality, and narrative, among others.
Now the book is not prefect. There are a couple of topics that begin to fall into the supernatural realm. For instance the author says that there is scientific evidence to show that reiki "works." However, it appears that these studies lack rigor (see Lee, MS; Pittler, MH; Ernst, E (2008). "Effects of reiki in clinical practice: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials". International Journal of Clinical Practice (Systematic Review). 62 (6): 947–54). Another minor complaint is regarding the topic of transcendence. She discusses it's importance, and I certainly agree, but she never defines the word, which is rife with varied interpretations. For me it has nothing to do with connecting to God or some universal consciousness, but reaching outside ourselves to connect with people and the natural world. Perhaps that's what she means, but I'm not sure.
Despite these minor complaints the book is well worth your time to read. While most of the topics were not new to me she has good insight into each one. I've highlighted a number of passages and will go back and review them again I'm sure.
July 14, 2024
I loved this book. Hartley offers simple insights into profound ideas, and in doing so, gives the reader much to consider about spiritual tools.
Brittney Hartley and I share a similar background: Raised in a high-demand religion that we started questioning early in life, faced backlash from our communities for this questioning (and in Brittney's case, emotionally abusive backlash from her family), went out in search of more, found only larger and larger holes until we realized we were looking straight into a meaningless void, then battled with a long dark night of the soul. Spiritually, I'm still spinning through this dark night, and have been looking to many of the thinkers and philosophers that Brittney quotes in her book — Carl Sagon, Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others — to make sense of this existential dread.
Brittney approaches the harsh truths of life with her eyes wide open. I appreciate her bluntness and her optimism. Here is my favorite passage from No Nonsense Spirituality:
"Essentially, Maslow saw a difference between those who were goal-oriented, self-actualized individuals and people who had a sense of spiritual connectedness. These individuals, often characterized by their creativity, self-awareness, and ability to fully engage with life, seemed to share an innate desire to go beyond themselves. They are motivated by a deeper sense of purpose, often driven by altruism, spirituality, and a sense of oneness with all of life. Maslow recognized that humans can achieve more than just a checklist of their goals; they can experience oneness with the universe, which coincides with profound inner peace. We didn't discover that he was working on self-transcendence as the top tier of his hierarchy of needs until we rummaged through his papers after he died."
Brittney Hartley and I share a similar background: Raised in a high-demand religion that we started questioning early in life, faced backlash from our communities for this questioning (and in Brittney's case, emotionally abusive backlash from her family), went out in search of more, found only larger and larger holes until we realized we were looking straight into a meaningless void, then battled with a long dark night of the soul. Spiritually, I'm still spinning through this dark night, and have been looking to many of the thinkers and philosophers that Brittney quotes in her book — Carl Sagon, Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others — to make sense of this existential dread.
Brittney approaches the harsh truths of life with her eyes wide open. I appreciate her bluntness and her optimism. Here is my favorite passage from No Nonsense Spirituality:
"Essentially, Maslow saw a difference between those who were goal-oriented, self-actualized individuals and people who had a sense of spiritual connectedness. These individuals, often characterized by their creativity, self-awareness, and ability to fully engage with life, seemed to share an innate desire to go beyond themselves. They are motivated by a deeper sense of purpose, often driven by altruism, spirituality, and a sense of oneness with all of life. Maslow recognized that humans can achieve more than just a checklist of their goals; they can experience oneness with the universe, which coincides with profound inner peace. We didn't discover that he was working on self-transcendence as the top tier of his hierarchy of needs until we rummaged through his papers after he died."
July 27, 2025
I stumbled upon the author's content online and it really spoke to me. As someone who has been experiencing a massive faith transition over the last several years, her explanations and hot takes on certain issues really resonated with something deep in myself. When I saw she'd written a book, I knew it would be good for me to try and dig deeper into the idea of a spirituality that doesn't require me to believe in things I can't believe in anymore.
It took me a while to get into and it wasn't a fast read. It was thoughtful and required my heart and my brain. I kept a pen in hand because there was a lot that I processed as I read. The chapters on Secular Morality and Awakening the Feminine really connected a lot of dots already in my mind to even bigger ideas. Ideas about the patriarchy and how it has impacted the relationship I've had with deity, ideas about how I don't have to reject the "spiritual" experiences I've had in the past just because I'm in a different space now. I feel like the inner compass and integrity I've been truly relying on the last three years has been validated, now that I've been not just reminded but assured that listening to my heart and mind and treating people with compassion truly is enough.
She brings many different faith/spirituality/philosophy traditions into this look at how to take what is good and then leave behind what no longer serves or is even causing harm.
It needs better editing, this is true. I caught several actual typos and sometimes the narrative was a little rambling. But for people like me, trying to rebuild a spiritual life from the ashes after a spiritual crisis has burned down our belief a high-demand religion, it feels like a life raft in a wild ocean. I know there are parts of this book I will be returning to again and again.
It took me a while to get into and it wasn't a fast read. It was thoughtful and required my heart and my brain. I kept a pen in hand because there was a lot that I processed as I read. The chapters on Secular Morality and Awakening the Feminine really connected a lot of dots already in my mind to even bigger ideas. Ideas about the patriarchy and how it has impacted the relationship I've had with deity, ideas about how I don't have to reject the "spiritual" experiences I've had in the past just because I'm in a different space now. I feel like the inner compass and integrity I've been truly relying on the last three years has been validated, now that I've been not just reminded but assured that listening to my heart and mind and treating people with compassion truly is enough.
She brings many different faith/spirituality/philosophy traditions into this look at how to take what is good and then leave behind what no longer serves or is even causing harm.
It needs better editing, this is true. I caught several actual typos and sometimes the narrative was a little rambling. But for people like me, trying to rebuild a spiritual life from the ashes after a spiritual crisis has burned down our belief a high-demand religion, it feels like a life raft in a wild ocean. I know there are parts of this book I will be returning to again and again.
October 22, 2025
I saw this author on Rainn Wilson's Soul Boom podcast and enthusiastically went for the book. It is really good to see someone working in the space of secular spirituality, working to address the growing crisis of lost sense of meaning and purpose as society turns more and more from religious institutions and encounters a void of spiritual need that atheism, existentialism, and science don't quite fill. There is good stuff here about building a life for oneself that brings meaning and fulfillment, and I'll need to reflect more on it, and possibly read it again some day after taking some time to process. The book is more broadly valuable than just to atheists, as I think that people with religious or spiritual paths already could also find this a helpful resource for adding to their practice, provided approaching with an open mind. I couldn't get on board with everything in this book however, and while I don't think that's necessary to still get a lot out of it, there was one point that caught me off guard and will keep me from recommending the book as glowingly as I would have liked to. There were some real ringers of false statements about Buddhism that both made me question other claims on topics that I know less about, and also the negativity of which just left a bad taste, in stark contrast to the generally positive message of most of the book. Giving the benefit of the doubt I think there was just some uncareful editing here, and I don't think it significantly detracts from the overall message of the book, but it will keep me from ever recommending the book to others without that asterisk.
October 28, 2025
Breaking my own rules to give this four stars...
There are problems with this book. First, the typos. I get independent publishing. And, I'm usually forgiving on the first two or three. But, past that, I become unforgiving. Second, the prose was fat. It needed a tough editor. It needed someone to read the chapters and say "hey, you're wasting space here, tighten this up by 20% or 30%." The text needed that. If I was grading this as a paper, I'd say: good ideas, re-write for clarity and brevity.
So, by rights, that's two stars.
That said, I really like Brittney Hartley. Her story is compelling. Her ideas, and the way she'd putting them together, are something we need (or, I need). She's an atheist who is past the stage of name-calling, ridiculing tirades. That's to say that, intellectually and morally, she's ten miles ahead of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. So, I really feel like she is a voice that needs to be heard. I hope she's still talking about this stuff when my kids need to hear it.
At the moment, though, Brittney's YouTube channel is the better source for her ideas. They are collected here, but, the presentation needs refining. This book is cool because the outline is cool, the set of topics is cool, the questions at the end of the chapters are cool. But, the prose of the chapters themselves is a slog.
Write another book, Britt.
Take these ideas and take 'em a step further.
Keep sharpening the stone.
You're young.
The future is bright.
There are problems with this book. First, the typos. I get independent publishing. And, I'm usually forgiving on the first two or three. But, past that, I become unforgiving. Second, the prose was fat. It needed a tough editor. It needed someone to read the chapters and say "hey, you're wasting space here, tighten this up by 20% or 30%." The text needed that. If I was grading this as a paper, I'd say: good ideas, re-write for clarity and brevity.
So, by rights, that's two stars.
That said, I really like Brittney Hartley. Her story is compelling. Her ideas, and the way she'd putting them together, are something we need (or, I need). She's an atheist who is past the stage of name-calling, ridiculing tirades. That's to say that, intellectually and morally, she's ten miles ahead of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. So, I really feel like she is a voice that needs to be heard. I hope she's still talking about this stuff when my kids need to hear it.
At the moment, though, Brittney's YouTube channel is the better source for her ideas. They are collected here, but, the presentation needs refining. This book is cool because the outline is cool, the set of topics is cool, the questions at the end of the chapters are cool. But, the prose of the chapters themselves is a slog.
Write another book, Britt.
Take these ideas and take 'em a step further.
Keep sharpening the stone.
You're young.
The future is bright.
December 9, 2025
My introduction to Brittney Hartley was through her TikTok account about coping with nihilism as a non-believer. Her posts always make me think, even when I don't agree, and I highly recommend you follow her there.
Regarding this book, it wasn't for me. As a well-structured guide for skeptics seeking to replace the ritual and community provided by the religion of their childhood, I'm sure it is great. My own interest is in exploring why humans evolved to suffer without these aspects of religion and how we can eliminate the desire for them entirely. Just as we have largely overcome our violent and tribal evolutionary natures, we should also overcome our evolutionary desire for meaning, ritual, and community. Methadone is not a long-term solution for opioid addiction.
A warning about the Audible audiobook: The AI voice is natural enough but mispronounces names such as Camus. Chapter titles are not on the player's chapter list, so remembering the overall topic between listening sessions isn't easy. At the end of each chapter, the footnotes are read aloud, and they seem out of place. For the audiobook they should probably be relocated to the end. Usually when an audiobook has questions or activities for the listener to do at the end of each chapter as this one does, there is an accompanying PDF. There is no such PDF included with this one so you must pause/play/pause to write them down.
1 star = Chose not to finish
2 stars = Wish I had the time back
3 stars = Was worth the time
4 stars = Still think about this one sometimes
5 stars = Changed me
Regarding this book, it wasn't for me. As a well-structured guide for skeptics seeking to replace the ritual and community provided by the religion of their childhood, I'm sure it is great. My own interest is in exploring why humans evolved to suffer without these aspects of religion and how we can eliminate the desire for them entirely. Just as we have largely overcome our violent and tribal evolutionary natures, we should also overcome our evolutionary desire for meaning, ritual, and community. Methadone is not a long-term solution for opioid addiction.
A warning about the Audible audiobook: The AI voice is natural enough but mispronounces names such as Camus. Chapter titles are not on the player's chapter list, so remembering the overall topic between listening sessions isn't easy. At the end of each chapter, the footnotes are read aloud, and they seem out of place. For the audiobook they should probably be relocated to the end. Usually when an audiobook has questions or activities for the listener to do at the end of each chapter as this one does, there is an accompanying PDF. There is no such PDF included with this one so you must pause/play/pause to write them down.
1 star = Chose not to finish
2 stars = Wish I had the time back
3 stars = Was worth the time
4 stars = Still think about this one sometimes
5 stars = Changed me
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