The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age

by Gordon Marino

“When it comes to living, there’s no getting out alive. But books can help us survive, so to speak, by passing on what is most important about being human before we perish. In The Existentialist’s Survival Guide, Marino has produced an honest and moving book of self-help for readers generally disposed to loathe the genre.” —The Wall Street Journal

Sophisticated self-help for the 21st century—when every crisis feels like an existential crisis

Soren Kierkegaard, Frederick Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other towering figures of existentialism grasped that human beings are, at heart, moody creatures, susceptible to an array of psychological setbacks, crises of faith, flights of fancy, and other emotional ups and downs. Rather than understanding moods—good and bad alike—as afflictions to be treated with pharmaceuticals, this swashbuckling group of thinkers generally known as existentialists believed that such feelings not only offer enduring lessons about living a life of integrity, but also help us discern an inner spark that can inspire spiritual development and personal transformation. To listen to Kierkegaard and company, how we grapple with these feelings shapes who we are, how we act, and, ultimately, the kind of lives we lead.  

In The Existentialist's Survival Guide, Gordon Marino, director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College and boxing correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, recasts the practical takeaways existentialism offers for the twenty-first century. From negotiating angst, depression, despair, and death to practicing faith, morality, and love, Marino dispenses wisdom on how to face existence head-on while keeping our hearts intact, especially when the universe feels like it’s working against us and nothing seems to matter.

What emerges are life-altering and, in some cases, lifesaving epiphanies—existential prescriptions for living with integrity, courage, and authenticity in an increasingly chaotic, uncertain, and inauthentic age.

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

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2018

About the author

Gordon Marino is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Professor Marino took his doctorate from the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago. Before coming to St. Olaf in 1995, he taught at Harvard, Yale, and Virginia Military Institute.

A recipient of the Richard J. Davis Ethics Award for excellence in writing on ethics and the law, Marino is the author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, and editor of the Modern Library’s Basic Writings of Existentialism and Ethics: The Essential Writings. In addition to his scholarly publications, Marino’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, and many other national and international publications.

A former boxer, Dr. Marino has been a USA Boxing coach since 1995. He was the head coach of boxing at Virginia Military Institute and currently trains both amateurs and professionals in Minnesota. He is also an award-winning boxing writer for among other venues, the Wall Street Journal.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depression - The “Plague” of the thinking global intelligentsia! But is it really such a negative thing?

Well, seen in isolation, it is exactly that. In deep depression there is no longer anything in our lives of value because of our self-hatred: but ethical existentialism can change that.

NONE of us lives - or even is permitted to live - in a bubble of isolation anymore.

We are all privy, 24/7, to every minutely salacious detail of every tiny defect of the entire world population, down to the LAST BITTER BLOW against - B.F. Skinner at least had This right - the guardians of our inborn Human Freedom and Dignity.

Why? Cause every nonstop mortal strike against those things we love and prize most highly in this world is - quite naturally and understandably - a blow against our OWN self-esteem.

At least, that’s the effect of the modern world on those of us unnaturally predisposed to Depression. God is not fair. And that’s the effect of bullying on Nice people.

We are not part of that dirty world. We retreat within. We create our own world within a world of reading and our favourite media. It’s our one escape. It’s good while it lasts.

But it is inevitably soured by our incessant news feeds and the bullying around us.

So guess what?

Our inward escape world becomes malformed like an ingrown toenail, because our media creates images of perfectly well-adjusted plastic people all around us. Like the bullies Pretend to be. And we’re obviously not one of ‘em!

Duh, where, exactly ARE these happy people?

A real no-brainer! They’re not there, of course. Cause they’re only well-adjusted when they’re ragging or leading us on. The rest of the time? Blech!

But the images they pin on us create Guilt. Guilt, spread far and wide, creates subservience... which is exactly what the powerful have always wanted.

A captive audience.

Say, who do these guys think they’re Fooling?

Not those of us predisposed to depression, cause they’ve worn through our blindness with bludgeoning blows of their ‘candid’ but scarily trivial truth. Which is clear as mud. EXCEPT it's not Right. It's WRONG.

You can fool some folks some of the time, but you can’t fool all of us all the time.

That’s why the author of this book and his comrade in arms, Søren Kierkegaard, are so intent on waking us up.

And if you’re one of those, who - like me - are dangerously prone in your blue funk to fall into the Deadly Sin of Sloth, Marino will wake you up by shaking up your slothful soul with some solid saws from Søren.

The need for it now is URGENT - to Really see the lay of the land in urgent alertness - and the sooner we see it, the better.

Wachet auf....

Yes, this book’ll wake you up alright - if you let it.

Reality was never meant to be dumbed-down. The world is dangerous.

And if you follow the author and that superlatively insightful friend of his, Kierkegaard - to the deep end of his reasoning - don’t fall into it, like Narcissus did when he fell in love with his reflection.

For when our trust is no longer implicit in the virtual reality we call our world, we still know truth is out there. Hold on tight to the truth.

For these guys’ Virtual reality is just that - a mere vaporous image projected on the screen of our Platonic Cave by insidious minds.

And if this STILL depresses you, says this book -

You’ve seen the right path.

“What we call the end is often the beginning...” so don’t worry.

And, as W.H. Auden said, we have to “follow... right/ to the bottom of the night.”

For only then will we see the a First Glimmer of a New Day.

For that New, Fresh Day truly awaits us -

And in it we’ll find a new and honest Peace of Mind and Soul...

Once we manage to break Free, and just BE what we always HAVE BEEN...

In a natural state of Complete Simplicity.

The simplicity of an unfair, but ultimately Just World.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll say at the start that I enjoyed reading this book, partly because I’m an easy sell for the intellectual self-help genre –the book could easily be called “How Kierkegaard and the Existentialists Can Save Your Life”—and also because the author (for the most part) deftly navigates around the perils that this literary form presents. The author, Gordon Marino, a philosophy professor at St. Olaf College, has clearly engaged with the texts at the heart of the book for decades and is evidently well practiced at delivering existentialist bullion for inquiring but distracted minds seeking intellectual direction and life advice.

Like other “How X Can Save Your Life” books, this book is, in essence, half intellectual memoir and half canonical author discussion. The author of this type of book usually goes through some life crisis that is ultimately solved through an encounter with a particular literary giant (Proust, Austen, Montaigne, Tolstoy, Dante, etc.). To carry this off effectively, the author requires a striking but not too inside-baseball engagement with the intellectual figure in question and has to be likable. They also have to have problems that are relatable and plausibly salved through a proper application of literary and/or philosophical insights. Crucially, readers must be convinced that they, too, can achieve enlightenment through their own encounter with the spotlighted intellectual now that the book’s author has shown them that it is all really within their grasp.

As alluded to above, the hero of the book is Søren Kierkegaard, and the book contains a number of arresting quotes from K sprinkled throughout. Each chapter highlights some familiar challenges or philosophical topics that populate human life (Anxiety, Despair, Death, Morality, Love, etc.) with a discussion of how K, with help from Sartre or Dostoevsky, say, showed Marino how to avoid easy but mistaken approaches to these travails. I especially enjoyed the chapter on anxiety (one K’s specialties) and generally found Marino’s chosen anecdotes for the various chapters relevant and illuminating. He didn’t try to make himself into a sage and he shares plenty of unflattering anecdotes, and not just from his younger self. A weakness of some writers in this genre is a kind of self-satisfaction at having come through the other side of the crisis, and I didn’t get much of that in this text.

While the book might strike some readers as saccharine at some points, I found it pleasantly earnest and more vulnerable than many other books in the genre (and certainly more than most philosophy books). If you are fairly familiar with existentialist texts, you won’t find much that is new here (though I encountered a few quotes from K that were new to me). Marino summarizes and quotes from several classic existentialist texts across the ages, though I think it would have been nice for him to give a “Suggested Readings” for inspired readers who are not sure where to start. If they follow him through the whole of the book and trust his judgment, he could have done them a kindness by directing them to suggested texts for readers with varying degrees of philosophical experience, or perhaps he could have included an annotated bibliography so that readers know what books might be more or less difficult and what hitherto unmentioned treasures they might encounter. As another reviewer noted, the chapters are more of an appetizer than main course in terms of its philosophical depth, which is standard for this kind of book. The book also contains plenty of boxing metaphors from Marino’s experiences as a trainer that are “hit and miss,” though I sense that the author just couldn’t help himself. Overall, I am not sure that the book will change my life, though I have been changed through my reading of the authors that Marino discusses, and that, I’m guessing, would be good enough for him.

[Jeff Nepute · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the authors tales of his own life, but this may be better called the kierkegaard survival guide (as this is the thinker upon which 90% of the book is based). For religious folk, I'm guessing it will feel more useful. For secular readers, it felt as thought the author typically viewed secularism with pity, occasionally as poorly thought out, but never seeming to view this as a valid and worthy position.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a challenging read for me, evidenced by the length of time it took. I kept reading a few pages, setting it aside, digesting, reading a few more... The Existentialists were obscurants; I needed some help (I started listening to The Teaching Company's Great Courses lecture series "No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life".) Disclosure: I was given a review copy of an Uncorrected e-proof from the publisher, Harper-Collins, through Edelweiss+. My copy had place-holders for, but no Epilogue, Acknowledgements, or References. I'm not sure what if anything else will change with the final publication.

I requested this because I'd not explored much of the Existentialists, though I thought I'd identified with at least some of the talk. Now I'm not so sure. I had to do a little research; as it turned out I had a less than cursory knowledge of the group. Learning that it is essentially exclusively a Western phenomena, by the time I was finished with this book I determined that most of the existentialists seemed constrained in focus by geography and cultural fetters. Kierkegaard was particularly hamstrung by his affinity to Christianity (so were Newton, Pascal, Descartes, to name a few...so that's not new), but even Nietzsche, as anti-Christian as any of his age, was a Christian atheist. That colors a perspective. Even if they manage to decouple from religion they fall to an unimaginative trap of searching for a replacement....meaning.

Imbuing “meaning” seems to be a core requirement for philosophers, regardless of the school. Marino interprets the meanings expounded by Kierkegaard and his “ilk” (a term used in the description that grabbed my attention enough to request this book)...not an easy task. Philosophers seem to spend a considerable amount of time and energy trying to answer questions that either don’t need answers, or can’t have any meaningful answers. And they sometimes imagine questions that didn’t need to be asked.

Do philosophers (or any writers) have an obligation to make sure that their messages are understood by others? One thing virtually every philosophical species seems to have in common is an intentional languaging up of their work - refer to Dawkins' Law of Conservation of Difficulty ("Obscurantism in an academic subject expands to fill the vacuum of its intrinsic simplicity.") - and existentialism keeps pace with, often exceeding, its peers. Here's an example, not in this book, but a very good illustration from Sartre:

"I have never ceased to believe that one is and one makes oneself of whatever is made of one."
Jean-Paul Sartre, quoted by Robert C. Solomon, No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life, Great Courses from The Teaching Company

So...what he was saying was "We make ourselves." But languaged up (Sartre was trapped in the "post-modernism" of his day...) I think studying philosophy is a matter of unraveling the language to see if there is anything underneath, and if so, exposing it. I’m sure that Marino summarized the philosophy well. Still, absent an explicit first person interview (all of the subjects were dead), everything is speculation and prone to the analyst’s projections (and Marino does project.)

A content note, Marino shares a lot of a personal nature; maybe to form a connection with the reader. He is a boxer and boxing coach...Hemingway-ish, I suppose (he says "Today, the young and privileged get very little practice in sparring with their angst." And then suggests they take up boxing. Yep. Hemingway.) I could have done without all of that. But that's me. Also, I don't think he answered the question of the subtitle. Actually, for me...he didn't.

Whenever I examine philosophy, I wonder which is more challenging: a life spent thinking about these things, or a life spent thinking about the people who thought about these things. Existentialists are no different than other philosophers in their search for the “meaning” of life. And they miss the point. Life just is.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Focuses a bit too much on Kierkegaard (and thus too much on existentialism through a Christian/faith-based lens) for my taste or interest.

[Sid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marino summarizes the classic philosophical works with utmost ease. Reading his book made me want to sit in on his lectures. This is not so much a self help book, as it is a summary and reflection on the existential thinkers of our time. I couldn't put the book down and the bibliography has inspired me to read many more of the classics from Satre, Kierkegaard, Camus and others.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Near the end of this book, Marino uses an apt metaphor, that reading about Kierkegaard, Sartre, Camus Nietsche, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, particularly Kierkegaard, is like mining for ore. There are veins of particularly rich meaning, and others that are more meager, and the accumulation that comes out of the mine depends upon many forays. Marino combines their various insights into the notion of “authenticity” Keeping this metaphor in mind, Marino does a creditable job of introducing some of their key ideas, and interestingly often integrates them into his own experiences.

He includes seven chapters, all of which point toward authenticity – anxiety, depression and despair, death, authenticity, faith, morality, and love, followed by an epilogue. Anxiety, to begin, is always about the future, and it can impede our ability to live in the present. Marino uses his own experiences as a boxer to illustrate how fear of the future, fear of being struck, can unnerve and ruin a boxer unless he can successfully throw punches in the present and move the future to the rear of his consciousness. It’s a balancing act, the concern about the future never disappears, but it has to kept within the context of the present. .

One idea leads to another. Kierkegaard recognized that he was a depressive, ridden with anxiety, but he suggested that we need to step outside our selves and be aware that we are subject to depression, almost a normal condition, but at the same time not be defined by it. If that happens, depression has turned into despair which leads to suicide. Depression, in fact, can be a good thing for Kierkegaard as it helps keep a person aware of his shortcomings..

One constant in the book is that our feelings, good or bad, do exist, but how we relate to them is more important than the feelings themselves. There is a progression in the book, the first chapters lay out these feelings, our attitude to death being one of the most important ones. A viscera awareness of it affects every other aspect of our lives. The thought of our own finite lives that lead to death brings a kind of liberation that all of the existentialists recognize. Awareness comes first. In Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” the people around Ivan, oblivious to their own impending deaths, lead empty and meaningless lives. Only Ivan, dying, recognizes what his priorities should have been. These priorities depending on the writer, vary from Kierkegaard’s search for God to Camus’ universe of a Godless absurdity.

The last three chapters on faith, morality, and love are all concerned with definitions of what those qualities entail. I was impressed with one definition of “faith”, that the very questioning of it is an act of faith in itself, that existence needs to be scrutinized and acted upon, however tenuous may be any conclusions reached.

The epilogue emphasizes that this book is not a self-help book on how to live a happy life. Leading an “authentic” life is a demanding and never-ending questioning. Happiness is irrelevant. All of these writers, Marino stresses, see life as a difficult challenge, but one worth pursuing. Despite their differences as to the specific details of what constitutes authenticity, I think all would agree that to go through life without questioning our ordinary habits and practices means an empty existence, a lack of authenticity.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually a philosopher author never shows you that they are human, flawed or they have just as much dread, angst and befuddlement as the rest of us do while they are charting their way through this life and searching for their special blend of authenticity as this philosopher author did.

The most interesting parts of this book are when the author tells his backstory about himself and his loved ones and how he copes with the curve balls that life throws his way while attempting to stay sane in an absurd world wrapped in paradoxes while he appeals to mostly existentialist thinkers especially Kierkegaard.

The author gives mostly a familiar and easy to follow rendering of mostly Kierkegaard’ and some of Nietzsche thoughts and other Existentialist thinkers almost always through the religious lens of Kierkegaard.

Socrates was interested in being qua being as a citizen in a polis, and Kierkegaard whose doctorate was on the Irony of Socrates made his project being qua being as a Christian while realizing that irony is jealous of authenticity and for Kierkegaard the self that allows us to understand most appropriately is the authentic self. The self that is not lost within the "they", the idle chatter (gossip, or today’s equivalent Facebook), the entanglement, and the attunement (mood of the world) takes us away from our ownmost nonrelational (never relating to death), and inseparable self.

Heidegger, who of course is mentioned in this book multiple times, takes all of those Kierkegaardian formulations but makes the new formulation being qua being by itself and for itself and no longer relational to the polis or Christianity, and both Heidegger and Kierkegaard make being conditional upon living and ultimately relational to death. Our authentic self is our most appropriate acted self. It is for you to determine what is most appropriate for you in all situations since you own yourself up to the time you die and as the author quotes Kierkegaard saying you can know everything there is to know about death from observation but you can never understand it because your death uniquely belongs to you and no one else.

I think the author wrote a book that he wanted all readers to be able to follow therefore for those readers who have read a lot of Kierkegaard or other Existentialists on their own will find most of the book familiar. For those who have not read much Kierkegaard or know very little about the existentialists this book will be highly entertaining and worthwhile. So, go for it, if you are new to the subject. Elsewise, I would say give this book a pass except for the parts where the author shares his being human with all of its foibles, fears, dreads and angsts that make up each and everyone of our human experiences.

[Simon Robs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it an weep not!

[Natty S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come for the discussion of Existentialism, stay for Catholic spirituality. Not that, as a Catholic, I minded so much. Just wasn't expecting it. I did think I was going to get something meatier though. Perhaps I should have more paid attention to the subtitle as a clue that this was going to veer a little more to the self-help genre (not overly so but heading in that direction). Authenticity is a good thing but it's one of those things that if you have to think about being authentic, you're thinking too much.

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Gordon Marino seems like a nice, sincere guy. His book, The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age, is both a survey of existentialist approaches to various topics, anxiety, authenticity, death, and a personal account of how the philosophy of existentialism has worked for him. So what is existentialism? Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre says it can be summed up in the following obscure sentence: Existence precedes essence. You become what you are in the act of living and making your own decisions, and you are responsible for those decisions. You are essentially who you are by how you choose to live. Philosopher Martin Heidegger put it this way: One is what one does. You are what you do. Like any philosophical worldview, existentialism is open to criticism. How much control do we really have, for instance? Is a man born in Kenya 'free' to become a tech wizard as someone born around Silicon Valley? How responsible is a person born with a low IQ in failing to get the PhD in Physics he so covets? Sartre says even the drowning man has the choice to flail or sink. Little comfort. Criticism of the philosophy aside, Marino's book might be a welcoming introduction to existentialism for you if you've read nothing else on the subject. Or maybe not. He will sometimes use the complicated terminology of a philosopher without explanation as if the assumption is either you're already familiar or will just 'pick up' the terminology. If you want to go the hard route, just pick up the primary texts and read those. Being and Time is probably my favorite of the existentialist texts, but it's difficult so if you read it, I'd recommend reading it in conjunction with Hubert Dreyfus' Being-in-the-World . There's also a pretty good introduction to existentialism, not exactly Heidegger's spin but all right, called Existentialism Is a Humanism , written by Sartre.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book worth reading, re-reading, and ... extremely unusual for me ... maybe even underlining or scribbling marginal notes.

Accessibly written, but deals in profound ideas. If you don't read Kierkegaard, can't comprehend Nietzsche, and have barely heard of Sartre, this book is a great introduction. It's also a rather handy guide of sorts to living a deeper life, becoming more self-aware without detaching from others, and finding ways of doing so when so many others seem content living life somewhere above the surface level.

The author is a philosophy professor, boxing trainer, semi-reformed street-tough, and brings a lot of his experience into the book without becoming overly obtrusive. His voice in the book reminds you of a favorite professor you'd love to have coffee or a beer with, and probe the inner depths of his brain for just a little more wisdom about life than you'll find in the classroom.

Highly recommended. Not a book about philosophy, morals, ethics, or religion, though elements of all these appear. It's a book about life, period.

[casey vieira · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75. Part of my low review could be due to the fact that this was assigned reading for an existentialism class I am currently taking. I feel as though a text like this, which offers very little in the way of analysis of primary sources, and is vaguely marketed as a self-help book, is inappropriate for the endeavor of actually understanding and gaining specific exposure to existentialist concepts. At it's best, Marino provided digestible paraphrases of passages from relevant existentialist texts, which were at times useful in grasping the concepts presented in said texts. At it's worst, Marino would get into page-long digressions on his personal life and past as a purported means of contextualizing existentialist concepts in the twenty-first century; these attempts fell flat in meaningfully expanding on the utility of existentialist concepts in this century century, and were overall simply distracting. Perhaps my issues are more with the marketing/use of the text, and less with it's form? I think it's hardly accurate to dub this a guide to existentialism because of the overwhelm of personal narrative; to me, this is a self-help book with occasional existentialist influence (mostly Kierkegaard, who was vastly overrepresented in the book [I know Marino is a Kierkegaard scholar, but at this point, maybe he should have written the Kierkegaardian's Survival Guide?]). Marino's prose is certainly thoughtful and intelligent, but at times felt needlessly elaborate, imposing, purple. I mean, who uses the verb "homilize" to introduce a quote?? Definitely do not recommend if you want to meaningfully learn more about existentialism.

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It is a very accessible text that breaks down the core teachings of existentialism from a very modern perspective, without being patronising or preachy. What I think sets this book apart from others is that Marino focuses heavily on Kierkegaard as his main reference, which I didn't dislike because I do like Kierkegaard. Marino dissects his ideas of angst, fear and faith but does so without getting lost in Kierkergaard's heavy theism (apart from in the faith chapter obviously). Nietzsche and Sartre are the other two discussed well in this book, and the author brings in references to Camus, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and de Beauviour where relevant. I just really liked to see a modern book on existentialism that looked at some of the core philosophers rather than the romanticised French idea of it we have become well known with today.

Would recommend this if you are someone who is well versed in Sartre and Camus and are looking for a way into Kierkegaard and Neitzsche. At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails is also a great book that takes you way back to phenomenology and the core of existential thinking if you are looking for more of a chronological history of the thinkers and their respective ideas.

[Sarah Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the way that this tied together the ideas of all the major existential writers (in both philosophical and literary circles), with a focus on Kierkegaard and frequent references to Dostoevsky, so that there is actually a whole chapter regarding faith and themes of faith and God are woven into every chapter. Usually, books on this topic follow after Nietzsche or Sarte in embracing atheism as a given. I had my qualms and disagreements with parts of it for sure, especially with the morality chapter, and it's no theology book. But given that I didn't set out looking for it to be a theology book, I was very happy with it! The author's purpose, accomplished by connecting philosophical ideas to anecdotes from his own life, was to provide a blueprint for authentic action and better living in the avoidance of self-sabotage. As I did after reading Thoreau, (whom I now learn is grouped with the existentialists), I feel invigorated and am inspired to make small but foundational changes to my way of being in the world, starting in the way I think intentionally about myself, others, and all the topics listed in the table of contents. It was so refreshing that the author presented both himself and the philosophers for the messes he and they were, while at the same time demonstrating what their personal philosophies did accomplish for them.

[DRugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful summary for people who want to explore the human condition. The author writes this book from a personal as well as an academic perspective.

[Wally Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sounds like an interesting and practical book: The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age. The author, Gordon Marino, PhD, "is a professor of philosophy and the director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College" in Minnesota. He's written and edited a number of books about Kierkegaard and is also "an award-winning boxing writer for The Wall Street Journal and other outlets."

I'm not sure what I expected, but this isn't it. Start with the title. If you bought The Desert Hiker's Survival Guide, you would expect to learn ways to remain alive / sustain yourself / keep body and soul together in the desert. What kind of guide would an existentialist need to survive? To survive what? Existential angst? In his Introduction, Marino writes that he will discuss "existential insights on how best to understand and relate ourselves to the trials posed by anxiety, depression, despair" and the more positive aspects of existence: "authenticity, faith, morality, and love."

What it all comes down to (spoiler alert) is a belief in and a trust in God. That's what Marino is selling. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph, a Christian God. Not Allah, not Brahma, not Thor, not Torgasoak, not . . . but you get the idea. Perhaps because Marino has devoted so much of his scholarly life to Kierkegaard and because he was raised Catholic, he uses Kierkegaard to justify and explain his own faith. According to Kierkegaard, "we need God to teach us how thoroughly depraved we are. Faith is the opposite of sin, and paradoxically it requires faith to understand we are sinners." I'm sorry. I don't think I have black spots on my soul. I don't think we're all sinners.

Kierkegaard is famous for the phrase "leap of faith," which he never used himself. But he affirmed that one could know God—again, the Christian God—only through such a leap, not through logic, not through doctrine. But it assumes there is something to know. It assumes there is a God to know, to love, to believe in.

But why not take a leap of faith into knowing that you will be reincarnated? It would explain why bad things happen to good people—they're being punished for an offense committed in an earlier life. It would mean that there are a finite number of souls available—sometimes you come back as a dog or a cockroach, sometimes as a better person—rather than new souls having to be created constantly. (Where are these souls coming from?) Reincarnation, after all, is something millions of people believe it. Why not you?

When does magical thinking become superstition become faith? Or are they all flavors of the same thing? According to Marino, you have to accept faith on faith. "[T]here is no argument from Kierkegaard for faith. In fact, he warns that offering a defense of faith is a sin against faith, akin to offering a brief to prove that you love your spouse." That from a man who broke off his engagement and never married. In any case, the argument sounds both closed and circular to me. You have to believe because you believe.

What about the subtitle, living authentically in an inauthentic age? Well, the book has a whole chapter titled "Authenticity." But wait. I question: What is an inauthentic age? What makes this age inauthentic? Was there ever an authentic age? Marino himself asks, what does it mean to live "authentically"? What's the difference between sincerity and authenticity?

Well, "to become authentic is to become yourself." Or as Camus wrote, "Above all, in order to be, never try to seem." This appears to come down to the Shakespearian, "To thine own self be true." And yet, and yet. Does the mask you wear make you inauthentic, or is it just one aspect of your authentic self, one of many?

As you can tell, I fought with The Existentialist's Survival Guide all the way through. I disagreed with Marino in large ways and small, delighted with myself when I could see a flaw in the logic, frustrated by his dependence on Kierkegaard's cockamamie arguments. For that and more, I recommend the book. I don't think it tells you how to live authentically in an inauthentic age, but for Christian believers it should provide intellectual comfort. And for non-believers, we're back to St. Thomas Aquinas: "To one who has faith in God, no explanation is necessary. To one who has no faith, no explanation is possible." Just take it on faith. Trust me.

[Cheza OH · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

As I was doing my weekly routines of going to and from banks, a manager of a specific bank I often visit to happened to see me reading this book. Curious and probably with a little time to spare, she sat down beside me to have some small talk while I was waiting for my queue. I have known her for several years now and our relationship was mainly transactional, until she started talking to me about her six year old son who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. I shut my book and as I listened to her, some preconceived notions I once had of her were deconstructed bit by bit. From our talk, I learned of some of her frustrations and experiences of having to take care of her son. Of how she had to plead with her bosses to get the job despite of the cross she had been carrying. Being a mother is a grueling task, and being a mother to a child with a disability is a big responsibility tantamount to improving the quality of one's child. Jean Paul Sartre, a french philosopher, introduces to us his notion of "bad faith" which is one of his most influential concepts. To him, bad faith is all about denying our freedom to act by acting as though we were objects, or to put it simply, it is lying to one's self that we have no ability to choose freely. My friend could have been an irresponsible mother due to circumstances she had not chosen upon herself, but she still decided to owe up to it 100%, and to me, that was simply beautiful.

This book isn't a how to book despite of its misleading book title. It does, however, provide fundamental philosophical insights into various facets of our lives, leaning onto the Kierkegaardian gospel. With no background in philosophy, except for some minor units I had to take during my undergraduate years in psychology (and not even being totally serious in class), it wasn't an easy read. But because existential psychology was a recurring topic in my college days, it got me by. My favorite chapters were on Marino's discourses on anxiety and on authenticity. It also provides a different angle at looking at mental disorders. I'm not into philosophy but this was an Ok start by the way.

[Donald Schopflocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly personal introduction to existentialism with a primary focus on the works of Kierkegaard..

[Mark Jurgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In their blurb on the back this book, Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein claim that Gordon Marino’s The Existentialist’s Survival Guide is “a remarkable book.” I heartily agree. While there are many books on the existentialists out there, with some notable exceptions most are written by academics for academics. This one is of an entirely different ilk. Not only does Dr. Marino elucidate complex ideas so that a nonspecialist like myself can get the gist of them, but more importantly he shows how vital the philosophy of the existentialists is to the concerns of men and women in the 21st century. What is most unique about this book is the author’s level of self-disclosure, revealing how at one of the darkest periods of his life, Kierkegaard and company literally tossed him a lifeline. I appreciate Dr. Marino’s candor in sharing so much personal history and the deft way he connects it to the insights of the existentialists, thinkers who were as courageously honest as the author of this compelling read.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

A catchy title, but if you're looking for an instruction manual you will be disappointed. But the good news is that the book is an interesting survey and discussion of some of the major aspects of Existentialism, an ism which it seems to me is about as hard to pin down as any I have seen, and consequently is misunderstood, or at least understood differently, by a large number of otherwise knowledgeable people. In his summary of Existentialism, Mr. Marino calls upon some of the titans of the subject, and quotes or references them to good effect in making his points. His style is informal, which makes what might otherwise be an opaque book very accessible and entertaining.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that in the end there are no easy answers, save perhaps the age-old admonitions to know one's self and live an examined life. Although I didn't come away from TESG with any rules to live by, I am motivated to learn more about this fascinating philosophy.
Three and a half stars.

[Wero · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have only read two chapters and I feel disappointed for several reasons. First of all the development of ideas is confusing. The author throws in some quotes, half-explains them and jumps to conclusions that do not really build solidly on the ideas.
Equally or more disappointing is that these chapters are based almost exclusively on Kierkegaard and reflect a Christian view, something that may work well for people who believe in God. He makes some half-hearted and unconvincing suggestions of how to make it work if you are not a believer, but not always. At some point he also drags Buddhism in and some Nietzsche.
It would have been better if the author had stuck to Kierkegaard and changed the title to Some
Kierkegaard Ideas That Might Help You Cope With Life
I will continue reading but do not hope "the best is yet to come". That would not be existentialist.
One or two stars now.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent memoir and survey of existensialism, but not really an "instruction manual" or guide of any sort.

In this way it's a disappointment. However, Marino's life is pretty interesting for a philosophy professor.

[Rob McFarren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good read. A nice, concise synopsis of existentialist thought, recapping key insights from Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sarte, Dostoyevsky and others. Made me want to go back to reading their original works, while having a nice flow to chapters Anxiety, Depression and Despair, Death, Authenticity, Faith, Love. Doesn't shy away from the religious connections while neither does it require religious beliefs to understand the concepts. Much like life.

[Leslie Camacho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the break down in sections. Great book, a philosophy class in college I think helped me appreciate this book a little more and I am grateful for that, it is an interesting one. Psych lovers would love this too.

[Briana San Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid overview of the giants of Existentialism and how they would react to it address some modern problems we face. There’s a strong focus on Kierkegaard, which was actually rather pleasant since he doesn’t seem to get enough credit in this area.

[Nia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not helpful for anyone who has never been addicted to something. I have not, therefore I cannot comprehend where this guy is coming from.

[Mara Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this up instead of doing my psyc homework

[John San Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Existentialism is pretty cool!

[Isla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Pretty much love everything.