Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology Can Help Us Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times

by Steven J. Heine

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Philosophy, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

Published January 28, 2025

Reviews

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it’s only March, but this is easily one of the best books of the year for me. Existentialism is a super interesting topic, and I had no clue that existential psychology was a thing. I was completely unfamiliar with Heine, and I almost didn’t read this because there wasn’t an audio version, but I’m extremely glad I did.

I was obsessed with this book and hated each time I put it down. Overall, this book is about meaning. It discusses the importance of having meaning in our lives, how we lose meaning, how we find meaning, and much more. This book had everything I love in a nonfiction book, too.

-Heine is academic, but he talks like a normal person so everyone can understand
-He explains the philosophies of the great existentialists
-He includes a ton of interesting studies that I was unfamiliar with, and some were his own

I read 100+ books each year, and it’s hard to explain how many just say the same thing as other books. Maybe its because this is my first existential psych book, but it was completely unique. Even when he wrote about topics or studies I was familiar with, Heine had interesting takes.

This is a phenomenal book that I highly recommend, and it’s made me wonder how much I’m missing by not reading more physical books. I can definitely see myself reading this book again in the future, and I’m going to have my son read it at some point as well.

[Homa · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the real strength of Start Making Sense is the way it connects existentialism with experimental psychology. I found that Heine takes weighty ideas like "absurdity," "existential anxiety," and "meaning" and explains them in scientific terms without stripping away their depth.

That said, I did notice some weaknesses. Despite the provocative title, the book doesn’t really offer concrete practical advice. If someone is looking for step-by-step guidance or a clear way of life, they’ll probably be let down. To me, it felt more like a mental map than a handbook. Also, while the examples are engaging, at times they seemed oversimplified. Still, I think the book is valuable because it bridges a gap between philosophical theory and empirical research. Compared to Frankl, who gave us a therapeutic method, or Yalom, who wrote about existential therapy in practice, Heine shows why the human mind simply can’t function without meaning, even if that meaning is self-made.

In the end, I took the book less as a guide and more as a framework for understanding how we respond to absurdity. For me, it was a thought-provoking reminder that no ready-made meaning exists, and that this is exactly what searching for it is both necessary and uniquely human.

[کافه ادبیات · Rating 4 out of 5]

یافتن معنا" آخرین اثر استیون هاینه روانشناس برجسته کانادایی و استاد دانشگاه بریتیش کلمبیاست.

هاینه تسلط بالایی به روانشناسی فرهنگی دارد و کتاب درسی جامع او به همین نام به چاپ چهارم رسیده است. وی همچنین مولف کتاب تاثیرگذاری است بنام " دی ان ای سرنوشت نیست" که مورد توجه بسیاری قرار گرفته است.

در این کتاب اخیر، هاینه به فرایند و چگونگی تهی شدن زندگی از معنا و شکل‌گیری نوعی احساس پوچی از نگاه علوم رفتاری می‌پردازد.

«از کانال دکتر آذرخش مکری»

[Dale Dewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very novel approach to understanding how we find meaning in our lives. By using existentialist thoughts, and focusing on experiments that highlight both the negative and the positive search for meaning the author is able to highlight the way in which we can develop as people. I appreciate the fact that well faith based development was mentioned it is actually not required as part of finding meaning in life. Overall, it was a well-developed and easy read and brought a new understanding to me of the ways in which we find meaning in the world.

[Beth Bonness · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read an article in Nautilus Magazine by Steven J Heine called, "David Lynch Opens a Portal to Our Minds" he reached out to me about his new book. "Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology Can Help us Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times." I'd never heard of existential psychology and love David Lynch so bought the book. It did not disappoint.

Comforting/not comforting is the cycle we are in of an anxious society that can be likened to the mid-twentieth century, following economic crisis, war, dawn of the Cold War, and fear of nuclear destruction. Comforting because we lived through it, not comforting because it feels worse.

Steven takes us on a journey through understanding how are different than our primate friends in this search for meaning, why and how we might set about doing it based on research.

So many parts resonated in shifting my paradigm of where the angst and "tears in the matrix" appeared in my personal life.

Hopeful, were suggestions for helping with both temporary and more permanent approaches to finding meaning in our lives. When I look back through decades of journals, the pull to "help" and "make the world a better place" stands out with this new understanding of why we are wired that way.

Favorite quote: "Meaning is ultimately about connections: the meaning in our own lives is determined by how well our lives are connected in ways that provide us with a sense of purpose, coherence, and significance."

Thank you Steven for the timeliness of your book.

[Wolfgang Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book’s title (almost) makes the reader believe that the book will be superficial. Far from it. Heine has a great deal of respect for the vast scope of his topic and offers smoothly written, thoughtful coverage of his themes that take us on a voyage across philosophy, psychology, religion and culture. Even though I am a Psychologist myself and expected to hear things I’d already knew, I learned a ton more about intriguing studies in Psychology and other disciplines, nudging me out of my usual comfort zone. It even took me back to my enjoyable Philosophy classes in high school!
Who should read this book? Don’t read it if you hope for simple Hollywood endings and glib answers. In fact, I urge you to take some time, read 20 or 30 pages and then put the book down, think about what you read and what it means for you. What is your purpose in life? Have you figured it out, and if so, (lucky you!) how did you get there? What were your own cathartic moments and critical life decisions? How can we recover when our life path is disrupted by chaos and we have recoup ca sense of continuity?
Heine weaves broad themes into his search, focusing on why we need to understand the world we live in, and how we use stories to create this understanding. If you are ready to do a bit of work, you will find eye-openers and also walk away with more questions to keep life interesting.
Wolfgang Linden

[Cooper Greenfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book full of good concepts and references, but those concepts and references can be explored at their sources with greater enjoyment. If this book interests you but you haven’t yet read Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search For Meaning”, start there instead and you will get a great deal more out of that book. Or for even more actionable reads on this topic, read some Arthur Brooks instead.

Heine is a professor and talks around the concepts in a way that defines them but often leaves you wondering what to do with the information offered. I respect that, as a professor, he’s done research himself on this topic that feeds into this book in different sections. However, like others have said, there is not much actionable material here that leaves me to feel like everyone is better off just reading the source material of Frankl, Kierkegaard, Camus, Satre, and Nietzsche.

Overall the concepts and research are good and interesting, but the entire book feels like a course lecture rather than a good book to me.

[Sadaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب یافتن معنا اثر استیون هاینه:
نشان می‌دهد چگونه می‌توانیم از اضطراب خود رهایی یابیم و با هدف در زندگی زیست کنیم. حوزه‌ی تخصصی هاینه، روان‌شناسی اگزیستانسیال، از ابزارهای علم برای مطالعه‌ی سؤال‌هایی استفاده می‌کند که فیلسوفان اگزیستانسیال معروف مانند آلبر کامو، ژان-پل سارتر، و سیمون دو بووار مطرح کرده‌اند. ما کیستیم؟ چرا به دنبال معنا هستیم؟ چگونه با یکدیگر ارتباط برقرار می‌کنیم؟ با تکیه بر دهه‌ها تحقیق، هاینه پاسخ‌های مبتنی بر علم به این اسرار ارائه می‌دهد. او نشان می‌دهد که انسان‌ها برای جستجوی معنا تکامل یافته‌اند
این کتاب روشنگر، شیوه‌ی درک ما از جستجوی معنا را دگرگون می‌کند و نقشه راهی برای ساختن زندگی بهتری ارائه می‌دهد.

[James S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Important content, but sentences like this:

"the collective mental health of the world is not good right now"

make it seem like it's written as if it's intended for a room full of depressed kindergarteners. Spectacularly stupid.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Pretty basic / intuitive.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come...

[Dajana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking and inspiring take on purposeful and intentional life through the lens of existentialism. Both deeply philosophical and practical. Loved it!