We live in a world devoid of transcendent meaning, and in that abyss we desperately seek a purpose for & the foundations of Life. Many embrace a rigid fundamentalist dogma, whether religious or ideological; others seek the illusory comfort of vague New Age nostrums; still others opt for the pursuit of power, or pleasure, or sensation, or mindless consumerism, or outright nihilism. Yet none of these instant answers proves satisfying in the long run. 

What Hollis convincingly argues is that there is no real substitute for true meaning, grounded in the encounter with the immense forces of the Psyche. Material things aren’t what we need, or infantilizing beliefs that swaddle rather than challenge us — what we need is to go into the darkened abyss & grapple with the unanswerable questions, the unfathomable mysteries. He doesn’t offer any guarantees of success, only the hard promise that the journey & effort are well worth it.