The Fragile Life: Accepting Our Vulnerability

"With an astonishing capacity to travel across philosophical traditions and with his usual grace in rendering deep philosophical issues through an accessible language, May tackles here one of the most pressing existential questions of our time: are we vulnerable, and, if so, why? This is a must read for anybody who has ever asked herself 'What am I doing here?'"--Chiara Bottici, author of Imaginal Politics: Images Beyond Imagination and the Imaginary "Would that all academics wrote as clearly as Todd May! He's a real teacher, who proves that much, if not all, of what's expressed in abstruse prose can be said in a manner that any attentive mind can readily understand. A Fragile Life is a clear and honest exploration, illustrated by helpful stories, of how we should think about our vulnerability to suffering. It will appeal to anyone who's interested in how philosophy can illuminate and guide our lives."--Scott Samuelson, author of The Deepest Human Life "Very few books have struck this reviewer as both poetic and so very real at the same moment. May's A Fragile Life does exactly that. It is not scientific and it is not 'new age.' It is a deeply felt and touchingly presented view of how to be human--and live with that! If the reader can accept May's starting premise--that all human beings suffer--then the rest will be easy to digest. Does one want to choose to linger in that suffering or accept it as an unavoidable part of a life worth living? If one chooses the latter, May offers encouragement and guidance on how to do this--one day at time. Most (if not all) 12-step programs suggest living by this motto, but few authors have found a way to make this practice applicable to the lives of all. May makes this work. It is not about avoiding suffering or pretending bad things have not happened. May shows the reader how to accept that vulnerability and be strong in spite of it. This text is strongly recommended for all readers who happen to be human! Highly recommended."--Choice "His discussion of the ways in which those who try to make themselves invulnerable -- especially in the face of Large Matters -- undermine what makes us most human, is clear and bracing. Importantly, May underscores that it is not that we wish to grieve, or be saddened, by the death of a loved one. Instead, 'each of us wants to be the kind of person [May's italics] who can suffer at certain misfortunes. Being able to suffer in the case of Large Matters is an expression not only of who we are but of who we want to be.'"--Los Angeles Review of Books