The universe was never going to endorse our continuation.
That was always going to be a category error. The universe does not endorse anything. Endorsement is something humans do.
The question of whether your life is worth continuing is not a question for the universe. It is a question for you.
And the you asking it, in the moment of the crisis, is in no position to answer it. Because the you asking it is in pain, is exhausted, is operating on incomplete information, and is mistaking the temporary collapse of one architecture of meaning for the permanent absence of all possible meaning.
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Your clients probably aren't lying awake every night asking themselves, "What's the meaning of life?"
Maybe they are. But more likely most would probably think it was weird if you asked them that.
But beneath the surface, many are wrestling with exactly that question—even if they would never put it into those words.
Instead, it shows up as emptiness. Restlessness. Shame. Chronic dissatisfaction. The feeling that something is missing. The belief that if they could just find the right relationship, the right job, the right amount of sobriety, the right medication, or the right achievement, everything would finally make sense.
For many people, those quiet existential questions become the backdrop against which depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and other mental health struggles unfold.
That's one of the reasons I found Jay Topp's new book, Art Is The Only Way Out, so fascinating.
It's not a recovery book or a clinical text. In fact, parts of it are unapologetically philosophical. But beneath the philosophy is an idea that feels remarkably relevant to behavioral health.
Topp argues that much of human suffering comes from looking outside ourselves for something that can permanently validate our existence. Careers, relationships, status, wellness programs—even recovery itself—can become things we unconsciously expect to "complete" us.
While these pursuits can be deeply valuable, they cannot answer the deeper question of meaning.
That has to come from within.
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Topp's central argument is that artistic expression—whether through storytelling, writing, music, filmmaking, painting, or simply giving honest voice to our lived experience—isn't just recreation. It is one of the primary ways human beings transform suffering into meaning.
As I read the book, I couldn't help thinking about Recovery Movie Meetups.
Every week, our partners watch their clients arrive believing they're simply going to discuss a film. Yet time after time, the movie becomes something much larger. A character's struggle becomes a mirror. A scene gives someone permission to disclose a painful memory. A story helps clients organize experiences they've struggled to explain for years.
In many ways, that is art doing exactly what Topp describes.
The film isn't the intervention.
The meaning clients create from the film is.
One of the things I appreciated most about the book is that it doesn't promise a life without pain. Instead, it suggests that healing comes not from eliminating suffering, but from transforming it into something that deepens our understanding of ourselves and our connection with others.
Whether or not you agree with every philosophical conclusion Topp reaches, I suspect many clinicians will recognize the underlying truth: people don't simply need symptom reduction. They need meaning. They need a coherent personal narrative. They need opportunities to reinterpret their experiences in ways that foster hope, identity, and purpose.
If you've ever watched one of your clients unexpectedly open up because a movie gave them the words they couldn't find themselves, you'll likely appreciate the central premise of this remarkable book.
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Editorial Note: Recovery Movie Meetups received no financial compensation or other consideration from the publisher or author for this review. We believe independent publishers and authors play an important role in advancing new ideas, and we're pleased to highlight works we believe may benefit the behavioral health community. This book was independently self-published.
