“So beautiful. I really enjoyed it. A fantastic book.”
—Zadie Smith
“Successful fiction, like successful therapy, Cohen notes, ‘sets a mirror before us, in which we see not only the self we know but the self we don’t.’ Relatability gives way to a more transformative recognition: seeing ourselves as others see us, or seeing ourselves as others, as strangers-and therefore as people whose stories and scripts aren’t as fixed as we thought . . . By the end of this wonderful book, we have learned to read its title not as a prescription but as a set of questions.”
—The Times Literary Supplement
“Cohen makes the case for fiction as a crucial aid to introspection, suggesting that our ability to see ourselves in literary characters runs parallel to the all-important ability to see ourselves.”
—LitHub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Part 2”
“Absorbing . . . Uniformly insightful. . . Compelling . . . An engrossing consideration of how reading fiction can lay a pathway for emotional and intellectual enrichment.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Original . . . Fascinating . . . The premise is a brilliant one with plenty of room for fun.”
—Publishers Weekly
Author’s Note ix
Introduction xi
1 Childhood Part 1: Play 3
2 Childhood Part 2: Schooling 51
3 Adolescence Part 1: Rebellion 95
4 Adolescence Part 2: First Love 134
5 Adulthood Part 1: Ambition 171
6 Adulthood Part 2: Marriage 211
7 Adulthood Part 3: Middle Age 254
8 Old Age and Dying 296
Acknowledgements 341
Notes 343
Bibliography 355
