Books like this help you expand your thoughts and what you can learn from the world and the life at large. What impressed me the most is the dialectical nature of the work, you feel as if you are talking to Tolstoi over a dinner table on these things that matter most to him.

So far I have not been able to find another book like this, but many people seem to recommend The Meaning of Life by E D Klemke. I would also like to try Schopenhauer or Emil Cioran, but they offer amore pessimistic outlook of life , not sure though.

I read this book during a particularly difficult time in my life. It became one of my favorite books I have ever read. While it did not provide the answers I wanted, it helped me emphathize with Tolstoi and that disregarding the fact that we has already at the peak of his literary career and had what most people only dream of accomplishing, he was still a human being plagued with doubts and fears. He ultimately found his answer in religion. I dont agree with that conclusion but the mere fact of looking for an answer was enough for me to feel a little bit less alone in this world.