Excerpt: "... either this bond feeds you or it drains you, either it respects your freedom or it tries to buy it, sell you short, and either it grows up into something alive or it dies in ways that you are somehow a contributing participant. The same goes for the larger scheme. The bigger picture taking form in the world currently makes this moment feel epically historical rather than merely a personal vexation, and this is where your nervous system starts reading the room like some approaching spell of inclement weather..."

Excerpt: "...One part of you holds the supreme estimation that you’re solid, capable, built for any crisis. Another part suspects you’re an impostor held together by momentum and clever use of slick phraseology. A bit of Dr Goebbels propaganda-merchandology. With that kind of internal split, it makes sense that you’d look outward for the verdict, for someone else’s affection, approval, or outrage to tell you who you are and whether you matter. The problem is that the world has become a terrible mirror..."

Excerpt: "You may feel a growing intolerance for any degree of vagueness at home, for unspoken expectations, for the way you have conveniently allowed the past to keep setting the terms of the present. Ask yourself something simple but brutal. Where has your private life been shaped by fear of consequence and public scrutiny rather than sheer love of life?..."