The Comfort Book

In The Comfort Book, Haig utilizes simplicity in various ways to help readers find comfort in their lives. Not only does Haig present a simple approach to perseverance, but he also advises readers to find comfort in the simple aspects of daily life and its everyday marvels.

Early in the book, Haig conveys simplicity through his anecdote about the time he and his father were lost in the woods. He and his father found that by walking in a straight line, they were able to find a way out of the woods and to a main road that led them home. This suggests that perseverance and survival do not need to be complicated. In the simple act of moving forward in a straight line, a sense of direction will ultimately present itself.

The theme of simplicity also aligns with Haig’s advice to resist overanalyzing life events and to instead acknowledge life “in the raw”—life as it is without any layers of meaning that distract from the act of existing. In the chapter titled “Toast,” Haig compares the search for the meaning of life to the search for the meaning of toast and states “it is sometimes better just to eat the toast” (46).