Thought Catalog

96 pages, $3.99

Review by Elisabeth Wilkes

Did you ever wonder what a philosopher’s blog would look like? Answer: Brianna Wiest’s book, The Truth About Everything. It sounds like a big claim to make, but Wiest delivers by focusing on the universal themes of everyday living. No, it does not gives the reader intricate details about every nook and cranny of existence. It does, however, talk about the hardships humans face no matter what class, race, or gender they may be. The main theme is suffering and how a person must explore pain for its transformative properties. Wiest writes about truths she has learned that are transferable to anyone. In this way she goes beyond the traditional motivational book by giving her readers insightful advice, but does not take the full step of making a “systematic” approach to self-improvement as a self-help book does. It resembles the philosophy discussions of old with its complexity and richness of ideas, but explains them in the straightforward language of blogging.

I found Brianna Wiest, and eventually this book, through Thought Catalog. Thought Catalog is the Buzzfeed of practical advice and features countless talented writers. Once I began to explore the website, I always found myself unconsciously clicking on Wiest’s posts. I enjoyed that her topics and her advice went beyond the “well, duh” statements I was used to reading from blogs. When I saw that she had a book and that it was under four dollars for the Kindle version, I was excited to give it a chance. It certainly did not disappoint. Continue reading →