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Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved ‘work-life balance,’ whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the ‘six things successful people do before 7 a.m.’ – Oliver Burkeman
Oliver Burkeman is the anti-self-help author that everyone interested in self-help should read. He encourages us to embrace uncertainty and imperfection in a world obsessed with self-improvement and relentless goal-setting. For over ten years he wrote the popular ‘This Column Will Change Your Life’ column for The Guardian and his latest book, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals, was a huge bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. Sarah Wilson is the founder of the global ‘I Quit Sugar’ movement, was editor of Cosmopolitan Australia at the age of 29, and has interviewed two Australian prime ministers, Beyoncé, Brené Brown, the Dalai Lama and dozens of moral philosophers, effective altruists and existential risk experts during her career. Her most recent book, This One Wild and Precious Life, won the US Gold Nautilus Prize and describes how she spent three years hiking around the world, following in the footsteps of Nietzsche and Wordsworth and emerging with a blueprint for living a wilder, more connected life.
In October 2023 Burkeman and Wilson came together at Intelligence Squared for an engaging discussion about the limitations of the traditional self-help industry, the importance of mindfulness, and practical strategies for leading a more balanced and purposeful life.
‘This book is wonderful. Instead of offering new tips on how to cram more into your day, it questions why we feel the need to … My favourite kind of book is this one … it examines the human struggle with intelligence, wisdom, humour and humility. Yes, there are suggestions of ways we might do things a bit differently, but underlying those suggestions is the radical idea that we’re already doing just fine.’― The Times
‘Life is finite. You don’t have to fit everything in. Enjoy your life. Breathe out. Read this book and wake up to a new way of thinking and living.’ ― Emma Gannon, author of The Multi-Hyphen Method
‘This One Wild and Precious Life is what the UK has been waiting for; Sarah Wilson’s journey is inspiring’ – Rio Ferdinand
‘Sarah Wilson is a force of nature – quite literally. She has taken her pain and grief about our sick and troubled world and alchemized it into action, advocacy, adventure, poetry, and true love.’ – Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
