Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life Hardcover – March 2, 2021

When I read and reviewed the first 12 Rules for Life book, I described it as a sort of self-help book for people who don't like self-help books. Present was the distillation of common sensical (but often unarticulated) ideas, but absent were the trite catch phrases and easy fixes that plague much of the genre. I'm pleased to report that the same can be said of this second volume.While this is ostensibly a self-help book that distills important psychological ideas into a dozen simple "rules" for living a better, more meaningful, and more productive life, it's much more than that. It's a wide-ranging treatise on psychology, philosophy, theology, and occasionally even politics (though not too much, and always in a fairly balanced treatment). It's true that the rules themselves are somewhat simplistic--some might even say self-evident. And that's a fair statement. The value in such a book as this, though, is less in the list of rules as they can be read in the table of contents, but in the immeasurably rich explanations and analyses that explain--at a remarkably deep level--the sound psychological, philosophical, historical, theological, mythological, and narrative reasons for each of the rules.The author has an amazing talent for seamlessly combining important ideas from all of these disparate fields in a manner that manages to be accessible to a wide audience without ever speaking down or boring readers who are already familiar with his subjects. It's a rare book indeed that can transition so effortlessly between discussions of cognitive neuroscience to the Bible to Harry Potter and back.That's true of both this book and its predecessor (to which I also gave a five-star review). However, I have to say in all honesty, this book manages to escape the all too common pitfalls of sequels and indeed might even surpass the original (though I maintain that it's best read less as a sequel and more as a second volume of a single long work). Admittedly, some of the examples revisit subjects already familiar from the previous book (or from Peterson's other writings or lectures), but these few stories are important enough that they bear repeating. More importantly, the new material is invariably fascinating, filled with historical notes, literary analyses, scriptural interpretations, and--my personal favorites--psychological case studies.With regard to that last category, this book manages to accomplish something remarkable: it is a self-help book that does not insult the psychologically literate reader. Instead, it draws deeply from the psychological literature (particularly the psychoanalysts, though certainly not limited to them alone) and might even inspire some readers to pursue further study of psychology or even a career in clinical practice.Most importantly, the book differentiates itself from the bulk of its genre by eschewing the easy and the feel-good in favor of the real and the substantial. There are no trite mantras, no happy cliches, no greeting card philosophies. Instead, there are real--often brutal, but equally often hopeful--psychological insights. This is the kind of self-help book that could genuinely help the reader who heeds its advice, precisely because it offers oft-difficult substance rather than simple but ultimately meaningless pronouncements.At a time when much of the world seems shallowly moored at best--and completely unmoored at worst--this book is a godsend for those looking to lead a more meaningful (and with any luck, happier) existence. I cannot recommend it (and its predecessor, though you can easily read the books in any order) highly enough.

We all know this, that after a huge, fabulous and highly-successful first of anything, following up is a tough call. The first 12 Rules for Life was such a delight, and a lovely introduction to some pretty highbrow philosophical mainstays that most people wouldn't easily face, that I had wondered, as I finished it a year or two ago, just WHAT Dr. Peterson would/could/might write next. That didn't matter much, of course, as that first "12 Rules..." was so brimming with great food for thought that I figured I could just flip it over and re-read it, a lot and for a long while, until whatever follow-up came out.My first impressions, on navigating its first dozen or so pages, was that it "felt" different from the first, a bit more intimate, and bit less academic and footnotey, but just as direct and linguistically precise. That's always a treat. There is a feeling, when reading Dr. Peterson, that he weighs his words very carefully (as he of course also recommends that we all strive to do) and that despite the great care he takes to wrap his ideas in just the right expressions, he never loses his trademark down-to-earth style and clear accessibility. Many with his academic credentials and experience would quickly sound lofty and a bit stilted in similar complicated landscapes of thought, but Dr. Peterson somehow keeps it fresh and within reach. That's not to say that any of this is "light" reading, as it is far too substantial to deserve such a label, but it feels more like deep, demanding and insightful conversation at a friend's house, than any sort of one-way lecture at some haughty institution. Indeed, there are many passages which are downright funny, plainly or a few layers beneath the obvious, and they serve to underline that dinner-conversation feeling, which keeps this book and its former near-namesake totally enjoyable, sweetly challenging and, at times, brutally direct. We are all on a similar journey, of grand, wonderful and sometimes despicable humanity, trying to dodge responsibility, cheat the game, choke our conscience, cover our tracks and protect the worst parts of ourselves, for some silly reason... Dr. Peterson reminds us of all that (and quite a bit more) and he manages to do this with total inclusivity, without talking "down" to anyone, making it clear that he too faces pretty much the same challenges, which spare no one. That kind of wisdom, paradoxically, could come from your favorite farmer, guru, midwife or bus-stop stranger, but Dr. Peterson does a much better job getting those thoughts on paper. The book is a gem. Lazy thinkers or change-reluctant readers may resist the workout, but they'll lose out. This is not a tough read, but it's not pop-psychology either.