How do I find my purpose in life?
With help from utopian literary theory (and from Deborah Levy)
Dear Emma,
Please can you suggest some fictional therapy for people who are still or again figuring out their purpose in life. It does change, all you 20 or 30 somethings. So be prepared (or excited?) to grapple with what it all means again, only this time it's more likely to be while waiting alone for the foot doctor than in a bustling cafe.
Thank you for your wisdom and suggestions.
The word I found most interesting in your letter was that bracketed, interrogative, flirty little verb, ‘(excited?)’. There it sits, coyly in parentheses, as if you are toying with the idea that the next stage of your life could be thrilling. Do not toy any longer. Exclamation mark excited! I think it sounds not just ok but inspiring to still be figuring out your purpose later in life. In fact, in the eternally spine-tingling words of Sheenagh Pugh - who I previously quoted to a correspondent who felt stuck at work - ‘Who wants to know / a story’s end, or where a road will go?’
