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The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

By: Andrew G. Marshall
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About this listen

Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity. Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life. So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer. Each of us has to find out for ourselves what makes our life meaningful. But we can learn from each other, share our experiences of how to navigate the journey, how to endure and learn from the swamp, and finally how to find solid ground. I have decided to use my original training in radio and journalism to interview witnesses for what makes life meaningful. Each week, I invite someone who is a therapist, academic, self-help coach or who has an enlightening personal story to share their knowledge or experiences. I hope our discussions will help you discover what makes your life meaningful and find more purpose and contentment.Copyright 2023 All rights reserved. Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • Toko-Pa Turner: How to read the secret map of your life
    Apr 6 2026

    There is a coherent and meaningful map for our lives and we are given it one step at a time with the occasional glimpse into the whole picture. That’s the key idea of my witness today...

    Sometimes the messages come from bodily instincts – you visit somewhere and you know it is going to be important for you – or your intuition telling something is true or resonates deeply within. At other times, the glimppses come from synchronicity (meaningful coincidences) But most importantly and most consistently the messages come, through our dreams.

    Toko-pa Turner is the author of ‘The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams. She is a teacher and dreamworker who blends a Sufi Spiritual with a Jungian Psychological approach. In 2001, she founded Dream School from which thousands of students have graduated.

    If You’re Looking for More….

    You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

    This week supporters will hear:

    ⭐️Three things Toko-Pa Turner knows to be true.

    ⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

    Follow Up

    Attend Andrew’s couple’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026 or men's retreat in April 2026: details here

    Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

    Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

    Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.

    Toko-pa's website: toko-pa.com

    Substack: tokopa.substack.com

    Facebook: @TokopaTurner

    Instagram: @tokopa

    Dream Drops (self-study course): https://toko-pa.com/dream-drops/

    Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home (belongingbook.com)

    The Dreaming Way: Courting the Wisdom of Dreams (thedreamingway.com)

    Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • Josh Cohen: How to live: What you can learn from literary characters
    Mar 30 2026

    Who is your favourite literary character? According to Dr Josh Cohen, an academic working in literary theory and also a psychoanalyst, this can be a very important question.

    Josh Cohen’s new book is How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature. He believes that there are major similarities between psychoanalysis and great literature. For one thing, neither offers simple answers to complex questions.

    With books, you have the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of someone else, understand what makes them click and why they do what they do. With analysis, which is generally over several years, you do something similar with your unconscious, and come to understand yourself better.

    In this episode Josh and Andrew discuss the books that have stayed with them throughout their lives. They also touch on the essential quality of imagination in childhood, and why we all need to “be more Alice”.

    Josh Cohen is a professor of modern literary theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is the author of many books on aspects of modern life.

    If You’re Looking for More….

    You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

    This week supporters will hear:

    • Three Things Josh Cohen knows to be true.
    • AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

    Follow Up

    Attend Andrew’s couple’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026 or men's retreat in April 2026: details here

    Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

    Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

    Read Josh Cohen’s new book How to Live. What To Do: In search of ourselves in life and literature

    Read Josh Cohen’s book Not Working: Why We Have To Stop

    Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

    Read Andrew’s book reviews on Goodreads

    Get Andrew’s advice on creating change in your life and relationships in his book Wake Up and Change Your Life: How to Survive a Crisis and Be Stronger, Wiser and Happier

    Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Kathryn Mannix: What you've been told about death might be wrong
    Mar 23 2026

    How do we live knowing that we will die? How can we face death, and how should we prepare for it? Dr Kathryn Mannix has spent her professional life working in palliative care, and the teams she has worked on have been involved in 10-15 thousand deaths.

    In this classic episode, Kathryn shares her insights into what it’s like to die and how we can love and support someone approaching the end of their life. If you struggle with thoughts of death - be it from a generalised fear, a terminal diagnosis, or the loss of loved ones - Kathryn’s calm and honest approach will help.

    As well as working as a consultant in palliative care medicine, Kathryn is the author of With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well, a collection of powerful human stories of life and death. The book draws on a lifetime of clinical experience to offer advice on facing death and living life in its shadow.

    Subscriber Content This Week

    If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:

    • Three Things Kathryn Mannix knows to be true.
    • AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

    Follow Up

    Attend Andrew’s couple’s retreat near Berlin in June 2026 or men's retreat in April 2026: details here

    Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

    Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools

    Read Kathryn’s book With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well

    Follow Kathryn on Twitter

    Find Oliver Sacks’ book Gratitude written at the end of his life.

    Read Andrew’s book on grieving the loss of his partner My Mourning Year

    Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

    Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
All stars
Most relevant
Andrew G Marshall is insightful and compassionate. The guests are almost always engaging and friendly.
The podcast tackles subjects from relationships, personal growth and communication, to the psychology of fairy tales. Andrew himself, guides the listener through the topics with clarity, occational light hearted humour and enthusiasm.
Listeners can write into the podcast with a problem to be discussed, this is one of my favourite aspects of the show.
Definitely in my top 3 podcasts. The new episodes are available on a Monday morning, giving me a 'thought for the week', in which I contemplate the weeks' subject and put into practice some of the subject matter that has 'landed with me' from the pod.
Food for thought delivered in a clear and entertaining way.

Wonderful. Thoughtful. Entertaining.

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