Unfinished Business

“Unfinished Business” by Lee Kravitz is a memoir of sorts. In his mid-fifties Kravitz, a workaholic, loses his job. He suddenly has more free time than at any point in his adult life and attempts to fill the time. While sorting through boxes of keepsakes, he begins to think of all the things he should have done over the years. He decides to take a year off from working to follow up on this unfinished business. He makes a list of 10 such tasks and begins making plans.

The book is formatted so that each chapter is dedicated to an individual task. These tasks range from paying a friend back a loan to sending a condolence letter. Most are things he avoided doing due to fear and in order to address these tasks, he must face various fears.

Overall, this book is an interesting look into another person’s fears and values. At times it feels like we’re a fly on the wall in his therapy sessions, a rather unsettling feeling. Other times we are pulling for him to find the courage do these difficult things. As he addresses each item on his list, Kravitz grows and becomes a happier person with more social connections than he’s had in many years.