The Life Brief

October 30, 2023
Wan, head of brand strategy at advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, marries branding tactics with self-help in this sturdy debut guide to discovering what “you really, really want.” Despite a “picture-perfect” life, in 2010 Wan found herself “drowning and depleted and full of questions” about her marriage and career. She decided to use the questions she normally asked her advertising clients to pinpoint her own priorities and “unlock real and lasting change.” To achieve similar clarity, readers can “get messy” by doing a daily “brain dump” (writing continuously and freely for a set amount of time), reflecting on the results, and shaping them into their own Life Brief—“five clear, bold, declarative statements about what you want in the areas of your life that matter most,” which are then summed up in a sharp, catchy “handle” that “you can use to guide your decisions.” While readers may want to skip some of the extended and plodding backstory about how Wan devised the Life Brief tool to save her marriage, they’ll appreciate her forthright approach and pertinent questions (“Whose life am I living?”; “How do you want to be remembered?”). Those who are sick of wishy-washy self-help will find much to gain.