Ryan Holiday – The Obstacle Is The Way, a book review

In a nutshell (201 pages), this book is about reframing the way we view and deal with the obstacles we all run into regularly. This is one of Holiday’s many books on a Stoic approach to life. The argument in the book is that when faced with an obstacle, that becomes the next thing to deal with, and therefore the path forward, not the end of the road.

What I got out of it

This easy read is heavy on examples of historical figures who were presented with often monumental obstacles and took on those obstacles as the next step. While the obstacle examples in the book are likely way larger in scope and gravity than anything we will have to deal with, it still does a great job of reframing obstacles in an energizing way.

What was difficult

The book is a pleasure to read and casually written, and while I wouldn’t say that there’s anything difficult about the book, if you have a long list of books you want to read, especially on stoicism or stoics, then you don’t necessarily need to read this book. Or at least in its entirety.

Recommendation

All of Holiday’s books are well-researched, well written and easy as well as enjoyable to read. If you know little about stoicism or you think it’s about stodgy unfeelingness this is a great way to learn what stoicism is really about. If you’ve read Holiday’s newsletter or other books on stoicism you will get a lot less out of the book than someone new, however.