For all that, though, I’m still not sorry I read the book. (I was surprised at how often class issues came to mind as I read.) Finally, I also have very mixed feelings about the idea of reasoning yourself out of emotional distress. In addition, I don’t belong to the intended audience of successful professionals. Thus, some of the ideas, if not their philosophical underpinnings, were already familiar to me. I’ve spent a lot of my life depressed, and I’m on the older side of middle age. I’m probably not the best audience for this book. The intended audience is clearly more or less successful professionals (the author is a philosopher at MIT) who are financially if not emotionally comfortable. The book is well-organized and focuses on using thought and reason to try to see things differently when you’re troubled. I think it says as much about the author’s mindset as it does about the problems he tackles, and this review may say as much about me as it does about the book. This book is framed as one philosopher’s search for answers to midlife’s unease. Midlife: A Philosophical Guide, by Kieran Setiya
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