At some point in our lives, we’ve all teetered on the precipice, stared into the void, lost all hope of finding happiness. Laura Berman Fortgang is one of us. As a young aspiring actress, Fortgang found herself trapped in that wasteland when a menial volunteer task showed her that this miserable experience "was merely a lack of perspective—and... something I had the power to change."

Now a minister and life coach, Fortgang uses what she has learned in her own journey to guide others through the abyss to the light and life on the other side. Fortgang divides her Little Book on Meaning into sections devoted to the other significant M words—Mystery, Minister, Magnificence, Mind, and Mystic. Drawing on her own stories and those of her clients and friends as examples, she delivers thought-provoking essays on topics such as pregnancy, the art of "just listening," losing and regaining faith, the struggle to find our gratitude, and honoring intuition.

"All stories are different," writes Fortgang, "but really, they are all the same." The minute details of anecdotes shared in The Little Book on Meaning may differ from the reader’s own personal story, but the common features will resonate; the underlying cause of sadness, anger, depression, and emptiness tend to grow from the same sources, and Fortgang’s use of real life situations brings to this book a recognition that rings clear and true.

Laura Fortgang has a gentle hand with hard truths, probably a skill gained through her many encounters with people at their most fragile. As she ponders the Ms that contribute to Meaning, Fortgang’s willingness to learn new ways of perceiving life is a shining example for all of us. Just as she explains in the early pages of The Little Book on Meaning, it is the change in perspective that allows us to find Meaning. Her fearless openness to learn and to view the world through different eyes is infectious and inspiring.

The Little Book on Meaning is not a list of steps; it isn’t even really a how-to book. Rather, it reads like a personal journal of discovery undertaken by a compassionate poet, and we are all invited along for the trip.