Midlife

Stephen Thorne narrates this lively guide to midlife's dilemmas with the color and verve of an expert storyteller. His seemingly endless range of tonal and phrasing patterns is fun to hear and attuned to every nuance in the author's personable writing. Setiya, a popular MIT philosophy professor, is an optimistic writer. His message, at once wise and youthful, is that while unfulfilled desires and goals may be painful, pursuing them gives meaning and purpose to what would otherwise be an aimless and futile life. He says we can't avoid the choices we make about our careers or relationships, and we can't avoid the mistakes and regrets that come with making those choices. But we can learn from our past mistakes and offset the burden of life's sobering responsibilities by including activities that have no other purpose than enjoyment of the moment. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine