Existential Despair: A Guide to Sad Books
Jan 2027 · Random House
Ebook
272
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on January 19, 2027. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
‘It is never too late to lean into sadness and realize that you can sit with it and others and survive’
Literature is the way we wrestle with grief, meaning and survival. In this book, Justin McDaniel, Professor and former Buddhist monk, invites us on a sixteen-week course of radical reading designed to unsettle, transform and restore. Each chapter is modelled on his popular university course, which requires the class to read a novel in a single sitting, grappling with complex feelings that arise and then articulating them before they evaporate in the busyness and distraction of the outside world.
Literature is the way we wrestle with grief, meaning and survival. In this book, Justin McDaniel, Professor and former Buddhist monk, invites us on a sixteen-week course of radical reading designed to unsettle, transform and restore. Each chapter is modelled on his popular university course, which requires the class to read a novel in a single sitting, grappling with complex feelings that arise and then articulating them before they evaporate in the busyness and distraction of the outside world.
Through a captivating range of modern classics from around the globe – by James Baldwin, Carmen Maria Machado, Yukio Mishima, Ottessa Moshfegh, Paul Bowles and more – Existential Despair explores the experiences that shape us and test us to our limits, from childhood to longing, sex, loneliness and death.
Existential Despair is a rare opportunity to pursue an immersive reading experience that is so much more than entertainment; one that could save your life.
‘It is never too late to lean into sadness and realize that you can sit with it and others and survive’
Literature is the way we wrestle with grief, meaning and survival. In this book, Justin McDaniel, Professor and former Buddhist monk, invites us on a sixteen-week course of radical reading des...
About the author
Justin McDaniel is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has won teaching and advising awards at Harvard University, Ohio University, the University of California, and the Ludwig Prize for Teaching at Penn.
Justin McDaniel is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has won teaching and advising awards at Harvard University, Ohio University, the University of California, and the Ludwig Prize for Teaching at Penn.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
