The Man Who Mistook His Job for a Life: A Chronic Overachiever Finds the Way Home

The Man Who Mistook His Job for a Life is a clever play on the title of an Oliver Sacks book from several years back in which the clinical neurologist and bestselling author poignantly describes 24 astonishing perceptual aberrations that cause victims to experience life in striking ways. Under this apt paraphrase, literary agent Jonathon Lazear describes how American males are increasingly finding their own perceptions altered as they subjugate their personal lives to their professional ones. Lazear candidly discloses how he once let his own work rule his existence, tracing a trajectory from a workaholic father through an early career in the time-demanding publishing industry and an eventual role as head of his own company. He tells how he became "stretched to the limit" while bringing home a seven-figure income--and, as a result, "emotionally distant" from the family he loved. He then offers a series of suggestions (i.e., Acknowledge That You're Not Perfect, Reset Your Work Clock, Start Small, Stay Positive) to help others similarly afflicted develop a more well-rounded presence. This is one of several recent books aimed at slowing society's hectic pace, although it may be the first aimed exclusively at men and the related gender-specific problems they face. --Howard Rothman