The Good Life: Seeking Purpose, Meaning, and Truth in Your Life

Colson—bestselling author, political figure and ministry leader—wrote this book to help readers answer "deep questions... that [determine] how we will live and how we will die and whether our lives will count for something." It is part memoir, as Colson reflects on his own rights and wrongs. For Colson, how people live comes down to their worldview – how their core beliefs about life shape their actions. He covers key paradoxes (i.e., "Out of suffering and defeat often comes victory") and spends a large section of the book establishing the existence of "capital-T truth," a concept Colson argues provides hope and "makes life a breathtaking challenge." He addresses a number of social and political issues, including evolution, euthanasia and homosexuality. Stories are central to this exploration, and Colson incorporates many different kinds: his own Watergate experience, popular films, stories of war and oppression, and front-page business scandals. While he attempts to conduct his search "without relying on any prior assumptions or sectarian convictions," his Christian faith is ever present, and some who start from an opposing position may find his arguments weak. However, Colson's deep humility is striking, and many will welcome this well-researched book, built on his lifetime of learning and extraordinary experience. (June)