A Simpler Life by The School of Life

This review is for A Simple Life by The School of Life. I thought it was interesting that the actual author of this book is not credited, just an organisation. Inside the book it says it was designed and typeset by Ryan Bartaby, so perhaps he wrote it. Knowing the work that goes into a book, I always like to see the author acknowledged, even if the book is part of a wide-ranging series or published by an organisation more well-known than the author.

According to the website, 'The School of Life is a global organisation devoted to teaching you how to lead a more fulfilled life. We offer insights in the key ingredients of emotional well-being: how to form good relationships, identifying a satisfying career, minimise anxiety, acquire confidence and connect properly with friends.' Sounds good.

I have to say that after reading the beautifully lyrical words of Yrsa Daley-Ward, this book initially felt dry and written almost like a thesis. But as I kept reading I got used to this author's style of writing and quickly got into the book. The lesson here is to always give something a chance; our first impressions are not always correct.

This book is all about simplifying your life but it is not just about decluttering. In fact, this is barely mentioned. Instead, it goes much deeper than that, into more nuanced areas of life such as how to be yourself rather than what society tells you to be, dealing with frustrations in your relationships, the cult of ‘busyness’, and a look at the human tendency to want what we don’t have. All this, and much more, is presented in a way that consistently stays true to the theme of moving from unnecessary complexity in our lives towards effortless simplicity.

Packed full of information, this book is written in easy to read, straightforward language that gets to the point quickly without waffle. It contains plenty of colour photos that serve to effectively illustrate the author’s narrative. I felt the book could have been improved by including actionable instructions or journal prompts at the end of each chapter but this is just personal preference and did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This is a self help book that encourages us to ask ourselves why we do or feel certain things; to look within to find out what we really want and to question how we feel about different aspects of our lives. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a deeper look at simplification but particularly if you are feeling a little overwhelmed and lost and want some down to earth guidance on how to live a simpler life.

My thanks to The School of Life and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐