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In chapter one, we examine the definition of meaningfulness from multiple perspectives. The purpose of the chapter is to help clarify what the constructs meaningfulness and meaninglessness precisely mean, so that as therapists using the book help people organize their occupations to enhance meaning in their lives, they are able to identify indicators of meaningfulness that they can use to measure the effectiveness of chosen strategies.

However, an intellectual definition of meaningfulness is not enough. It is important to find out what people perceive to be meaningful in their lives. To achieve that objective, we analyzed autobiographies published by a community of “worker writers” in England using heuristic interpretive methods, with a view to teasing out what these individuals perceived to be the meaning of their lives and how they saw their daily occupations contributing to that meaning. Our findings of the analysis are reported in chapter 2. By understanding the experienced phenomenon of meaningfulness/meaninglessness as described by “worker writers”, we set the stage in this chapter for the content discussed in subsequent chapters.

Based on Frankl’s (1992) postulation that meaning in life derives from love for someone or something, creative activity, appreciation of beauty and art, connection to something larger than ourselves, and moral integrity, in chapter three, we embark on an exploration of how human beings have gone about, through the ages, searching for meaning in their lives. Frankl suggested that part of the cause of the existential vacuum in our times was disconnection from the natural environment and from traditions, including religious practices. Therefore, in chapter three we examine how culture and social norms, religion, and philosophical and scientific inquiry, are used by many people as vessels to convey them to an experience of meaning in their lives. This theme is continued in chapter four where we examine how occupations fit into meaning-making endeavors by grounding one in culture, religion, and social life.