Kissel believes the COVID-19 pandemic changed the music industry and that music needs to "bring people together safely, tell the story, distract from the real challenges going on in the world right now". At the onset of the pandemic, Kissel felt lacking of creative spirit and did not write songs for six months. He began writing again in late 2020 and early 2021, and says that from this album forward he will spend the next few years focusing on telling a story with his music and not focusing on profit.He remarked that the song "Die to Go Home" was the "most emotional" for him as it was "super vulnerable" and a story he felt he would never share, while he called "Slidin' Your Way" an "ode" to 1990s country group Diamond Rio. Kissel says this album is "not really hit driven" rather it is "heart driven". In order to make the album more important to him, he recorded some of the songs on his farm in Alberta, and took all of the photos for the album and its liner notes on the farm he grew up at. He also invited his wife and three children to be involved with the album, with each of his three children featuring on their own interlude.He described the title of the album What Is Life? as an "age-old question" that he has focused on for this phase of his career and life, saying that "each and every time, the one thought that is always front and centre for me, is doing the best we can with what we have, and making the most of our lives".Kissel opted to have his touring band play the backing instruments on the album instead of Nashville session players.