The end of year lends itself to a lot of reviewing. We tend to look back at the past 12 months and quantitatively evaluate them: I visited this many state parks, I binged this many TV shows. But now is also as good a time as any to look back at your life as a whole, whether you’re 25 or 75.
A life review offers the opportunity to reflect on your past experiences, accomplishments, and challenges, from childhood to the present day, and integrate them into who you are today — and who you want to be going forward.
“This exercise allows individuals to make sense of their life’s journey, acknowledge their accomplishments, and find closure with unresolved issues,” author Jodi Wellman explained in Psychology Today. “It can reduce feelings of regret and foster a sense of acceptance and contentment.”
Jane Fonda, queen of aging unapologetically, has publicly touted the transformative power of a life review. The now-87-year-old previously told Glamour that she took part in the process a year before her 60th birthday. “It totally changed the way I thought about myself and about how I wanted to live the last third of my life,” she said, adding that the most surprising takeaway was “that I’m brave.”
Read on to learn more about what exactly a life review is, how it may benefit you, and how to conduct one.
What It Is
In psychology, the term “life review” refers to a structured technique first described by pioneering gerontologist Robert Butler back in 1963. Butler posited that the act of reviewing one’s life is a natural occurrence that comes with age or with terminal illnesses, but that the practice can be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. He drew on psychoanalyst Erik Erikson’s ideas about the stages of psychosocial development, specifically the last stage on Erikson’s pyramid, the struggle between making meaning out of one’s life and feeling regret.
As a therapy, life reviews are typically conducted in group settings or one-on-one with a facilitator who asks the person open-ended questions meant to invite insight and help reframe negative experiences in a positive light.
“It’s not only looking back,” Gerben Westerhof, the department chair in psychology, health, and technology at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, told The New York Times, “but also looking forward at who you are. What could be the next chapter of your life?”
How It Helps
Per William Damon, a professor at Stanford University and a leading scholar on human development, there are three overarching benefits of completing a life review: acceptance of the events and choices that have shaped our lives, a deepened understanding of who we are, and a greater clarity in the direction we should take moving forward.
A wealth of research has borne out more specific gains. One 2024 study found that older adults who participated in a five-week life review program while sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic saw an improved sense of personal mastery and self-perceived quality of life. Another from this year determined that, for the same age group, life reviews appeared to increase life satisfaction and decrease depression and PTSD symptoms.
While the majority of research has looked at people aged 65 and older, there is evidence that the more general but similar reminiscence therapy is beneficial for young adults as well. A 2016 study of participants with a mean age of around 25 found that targeted reminiscence activities caused significant improvements in self-esteem, life meaning, self-efficacy, and affect.
Speaking to Well+Good, hospice doctor Jordan Grumet explained that while life reviews are common for helping dying people clarify purpose, individuals of all ages would be wise to embrace them.
“One thing we often see in the dying is that only when they realize that the end of life is near do they give themselves permission to really start thinking about those things they really want in life,” he said, adding: “If we start doing this as a young person, maybe once a year, maybe once every six months, we can start working on these things now so that we don’t have regrets. Life is finite, and we don’t know when our last month will be here.”
How to Conduct a Life Review
You don’t necessarily need to partake in a structured course to reap some of the rewards a life review can offer — but if you’re interested in that, you can reach out to one of the dozens of licensed guided autobiography counselors across the country. Here’s a directory.
For a more informal approach that can be completed on your own or with a loved one, you’ll want to start by simply gathering some insightful questions. Per the Times, these can range from “Do you remember your first attraction to another person?” to “What pieces of wisdom would you like to hand down to the next generation?”
You may want to write your responses down by yourself, or have a friend or family member interview you, so you can talk through the answers in the form of a conversation. If you know a family member who may enjoy or benefit from a life review, consider suggesting the practice and offering to do the interviewing. Doing so may not only benefit that person but also strengthen your bond and help you learn more about them.
StoryCorps has an incredible collection of insightful questions on a variety of topics, and you can access them all for free. The Legacy Project also has a wealth of resources, from free questions to a Life Interview Kit available for purchase.
If you’re planning to go about it entirely on your own, take Grumet’s advice and give yourself some time. “Usually, when people first sit down to do this, they’re not very good at it because we’re not used to sitting down and thinking about these things,” he told Well+Good. “It may take you a few hours, days, or weeks to get through.”
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