I noticed We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions in almost every bookstore and book platform I browsed. The hype was impossible to ignore. Curious, I wanted to know what these these authors had to say about life’s toughest questions. And to be fair, the questions they raise are incredibly relevant. They touch on identity, boundaries, self-trust, and the complexity of being human, questions we’ve all probably wrestled with at some point. So, I expected something insightful, or at least some form of guidance, for the big, hard questions we all carry. After all, that subtitle makes a promise: answers.

But after reading through it, I have to be honest that I didn’t find many insightful answers.

The structure of the book is based on conversations from the podcast. These dialogues have been edited for written-form media, but they still read more like snippets of personal reflection than actual answers. Some chapters felt like a late-night chat with friends. And while that’s not a bad thing in itself, it wasn’t quite what I expected from a book that claims to offer answers.

At times, I found myself feeling relatable. But just when I thought I’d found a spark of something deeper, the conversation would move on too quickly. Many chapters left me wanting more. More context, more guidance, or at least a longer pause to reflect. Since most part of the book intentionally leans into personal experience rather than professional or scientific expertise, I was often left hanging. The answers, if we can call them that, felt too brief, too anecdotal.

However, I don’t think this book is without value. It certainly gives readers permission to sit with hard questions and know they’re not alone in the asking. But I do wish there had been more to ground the insights. Maybe a companion book that includes essays or deeper dives from experts would’ve helped round out the experience.

We Can Do Hard Things stirred something in me, but it didn’t satisfy the curiosity it awakened. Just be prepared to finish the book with more questions than you started with.

My Favorite Bits

Our culture feeds us a lie about laziness. It tells us: You have a character flaw if you are failing to hustle nonstop to meet these unattainable standards of productivity set for you.

We think the problem is our laziness, our failure to manage our time, our inability to push through. But no. The problem is hustle culture. And when our body feels exhausted, it’s not a deficiency, it’s a message we should pay attention to.

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Author: Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle
Publication date: 6 May 2025
Number of pages: 497 pages

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