After being suggested 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos so often, I decided to finally give it a chance. This was probably one of the most impactful books I have ever read. Peterson provides his poetry, his historical, psychiatric, and religious knowledge, as well as his passion for literature that uses both truth and fiction to explore meaning. He incorporated it all to write something so telling of our time and so desired by our culture, and more importantly, genuine. I was immediately hooked. This book is about humanity, and life, and the world. This book asks many tough questions and forces you to look at yourself. Just as Solzhenitsyn did when looking back at his time in the Soviet Gulags and what role he might have played in the rise of the regime.

This book dives deep into the suffering of existence and mankind’s many plights, but also the great feats we have accomplished and are capable of, and more specifically, what you are capable of, with hard work, discipline and a genuine search for understanding. To paraphrase Jordan, the past is a still frame, the present is overwhelming, but the future can always be better. I would suggest this to all those who feel lost and to all those who feel angry or hateful toward the world. Also, to all those in search of meaning, for you might not find it in these pages, though you may find the beginning of your path. Each chapter is a rule to live your life by, and as the title suggests, to stave off the Hells of chaos. They are backed with personal, historical, professional and religious context, experience and stories; from Standing up straight with your shoulders back, to my personal favorite, Petting a cat when you encounter one on the street, each rule is powerful and well thought out. I plan to read this book again.