(122-page) novel builds from a real-life tragedy to a deep, disturbing, fascinating exploration of morality plunges the reader into its plausible, gripping details--as well as the complex emotions, responsibility, morals Yet Small Boat is far more than an exploration of the moral dilemmas within, justifications around, and Explore these links for more Bossy reads around refugees, morality, and more short books that pack a

playful, often weighty questions, scenarios, and ideas, How to Be Perfect makes considering ethics and morality , Michael Schur, the creator of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, relies upon takeaways from morality He builds to more complex scenarios, touching on the popular trolley problem and its variations, morality He explores various schools of thought about ethics and morality to consider more complex issues, including

didn't often torture themselves over their mistakes, didn't throw themselves in front of trains out of moral I'm fascinated by books that explore mortality--see the link below for more Bossy reads in this vein- You might also want to check out these Bossy reads that center around mortality.

The story's turns may not feel like a surprise, but the exploration of mortality, what makes a life worth surprised by any of the turns each storyline takes here, but the string dilemma leads to an examination of mortality , morality and judgment, the evaluation of the true meaning of a life, and more. If you're interested in books that explore mortality, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality.

He uses his decades of research into moral psychology to explore a timely, potent issue: the power in But from the perspective of Moral Foundations Theory, rural and working-class voters were in fact voting for their moral interests." The author examines "how moral diversity can so easily divide good people into hostile groups that do (Because "morality binds and blinds.")

Anatomy of an Alibi pits privileged greed against savvy morally gray characters, and the women caught I enjoyed the morally gray characters--friends of Aubrey's--and the way they worked their savvy systems

investigator looking into her trusted friend Farlow, she is faced with impossible decisions around loyalty, morality Delecroix imagines the moral dilemma, justifications, and aftermath of the greatest loss of life in English

I love a book that explores issues around mortality. His novel Vigil touches on mortality and deathbed reflections. Please check out the reviews and lists on the blog if you're interested in books that address mortality

which Waldo, a young woman--legally underage at 17 when the story and relationship begins and certainly morally If--and this is an enormous if --we can consider the legal and moral atrocities of the relationship that We watch Waldo (within a consensual but morally horrifying relationship) grow into herself as a young

But I find a memoir about facing mortality fascinating. Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year Have you read books about mortality--or memoirs that aren't also meaningful for anyone considering the way they live and how they might choose to face their own mortality Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi “I began to realize that coming in such close contact with my own mortality

Nikki Erlick explores grief, loss, family conflicts, strangers' bonds, and sticky moral dilemmas related I enjoy a novel about imagined near-future advancements, and the Poppy Fields's founder delves into moral (Check out the links below to Bossy reviews of other titles about mortality, grief, and loss.) More Books about Mortality and Loss Erlick is also the author of The Measure . For more books that explore mortality, please check out these lists and titles , and please check out

In Being Mortal, surgeon, former Harvard professor, and public health leader (Assistant Administrator Being Mortal is a beautiful, poignant, clearheaded examination of the intersection of mortality, medicine With this new way, in which we together try to figure out how to face mortality and preserve the fiber Being Mortal is essential reading, gorgeously written and clearly presented. Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality

I was most interested in the story's exploration of mortality, terrible chance accidents, culpability

More Books about Mortality For more Bossy reviews of books about mortality, please check out this link

I prefer faulted but layered morally corrupt characters, but these are selfish, misogynistic, single-minded

Kenney's darkly funny, thoughtful novel about an obituary writer hitting rock bottom and reflecting on mortality taking it too far by keeping a dark edge to his humor and mixing grief, the sobering reality of facing mortality And for Bossy reads that explore issues around mortality, please check out these titles and book lists

memories and mining them for poignancy and also laughs, or presenting his own distorted versions of morality

But I find a memoir about facing mortality fascinating. also meaningful for anyone considering the way they live and how they might choose to face their own mortality Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi “I began to realize that coming in such close contact with my own mortality shares her faith, fury, despair, humor, and even joy as she faces difficult and beautiful truths about mortality

This is gorgeous Niall Williams literary fiction, centering around an Irish country village, a young man searching for his path, and his unofficial mentor, zigzagging his way through life, embracing adventure, and bridging the gap between the old ways and modernity. Quiet connections and reflections make the story, with understated poignancy, humor, and heartbreaking moments that bring the book's world to life. We’re all, all the time, striving, and though that means there’s a more-or-less constant supply of failure, it’s not such a terrible thing if you think that we keep on trying. There’s something to consider for that. In the rural Irish village of Faha, in County Clare, the years-long rain (whether sprinkling, torrential, misting, steady dripping) is stopping, and electricity seems poised to finally move from "the notional" to "the actual," as Father Coffey proclaims. Young Noe (short for "Noel") has abandoned the seminary but is unsure of his next steps, and he takes refuge at his beloved grandparents' cottage in the village. A stranger, Christy, arrives to begin coordinating the installation of electricity in the area, and he boards with Noe at Ganga and Doady's home. He is older, kind, capable, yet somewhat lost, and he's bent on making amends for past mistakes. He and Noe begin going on periodic nighttime excursions quest to try to see a legendary but elusive Irish musician, and Christy reveals that he is on a greater mission to find and apologize to a woman in the village who he wronged long ago. That was one of the things about him. He walked this line between the comic and the poignant, between the certainly doomed and the hopelessly hopeful. In time I came to think it the common ground of all humanity. As their friendship begins, Noe feels privileged to exist within his new idol's world, but we witness Noe's emotional maturity grow during the course of story. He's simultaneously falling in love with a family of sisters, considering his future, witnessing his grandparents' heartbreaking aging (as well as their their somewhat inexplicable but undeniable loyalty to each other), and witnessing the change in the community forever as modernity pushes into their homes and businesses. This Is Happiness explores the small moments that make up a life worth living as well as explorations of the meaning of existence, religion, spirituality, reconciliation, commitment, and facing death. It was where, when darkness fell, it fell absolutely, and when you went outside the wind sometimes drew apart the clouds and you stood in the revelation of so many stars you could not credit the wonder and felt smaller in body as your soul felt enormous. I adore this novel and its countless gorgeous passages, its understated, poignant, heartbreaking elements, and its unexpected moments of connection and beauty. When I was almost finished reading my (overdue) library copy, I bought a copy for a friend's birthday gift and ordered another for myself so I could finish reading it at my leisure and keep it forever. Noe's character feels written as younger than his age, but I easily disregarded this disconnect as I immersed myself in the story. Story was the stuff of life, and to realise you were inside one allowed you to sometimes surrender to the plot, to bear a little easier the griefs and sufferings and to enjoy more fully the twists that came along the way. On my first venture out of the country, I traveled to London and to a small town in County Clare, Ireland, with my cousin and aunt and uncle, and while this story is set well before I ever visited, Williams's rich descriptions of the countryside evoked wonderfully nostalgic feelings for me. More Niall Williams Love For my review of Niall Williams's lovely Time of the Child , please click   this link . Williams is also the autho r of Four Letters of Love , As It Is In Heaven , The Fall of Light , Only Say the Word , Boy in the World, Boy and Man , John , and History of the Rain .

Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt Jonathan Haidt uses his decades of research into moral Haidt explores why "gut feelings" and intuition often drives moral judgments, and why liberals, conservatives

I was hooked on the behind-the-scenes feeling of Moran's historical-fiction conversations between Maria In Michelle Moran's novel Maria , she uses two timelines to shape the story of the real woman behind Michelle Moran is also the author of Cleopatra's Daughter.

I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period. that she and others with sociopathy feel very little, don't adhere to societal safety standards or moral

Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly is a high school English teacher who leans on her close-knit, longtime book club for support, reason, venting, and laughter. Along with her beloved husband, they are her closest people. The friends gift Polly an ancestry DNA kit, and when she lightheartedly submits her results, she is matched to a stranger. Sure that it's an error, Polly digs into her family history to make sure she is who she has always thought. She wonders if her difficult relationship with her mother could be due to secrets around her biological origins, and she forges an unexpected bond with a young woman while feeling distance from her brother and even more cold feelings toward her mother. Meanwhile, messy life events are propelling members of the book club in different directions, and the friends' bonds will be tested by all that is to come. Polly's strong, loving marriage is a bolstering force for her, as is her deep friendship with her brother. The hesitant, imperfect development of her relationship with her mom is difficult and intriguing to witness. I was fascinated by the way Polly's book club friend group evolved through difficulties. After so many years, they have reads on each other's personalities and preferences in many ways, but some combinations of them also keep each other at an emotional distance. The experiences they share through the course of the book add another layer to their connections. I felt as though the premise of the book club (everyone buys the book but pledges not to read it) was somewhat silly and contrived, although in theory I'm all for unconventional book club inspiration (I love that my good friend's book club is all about sharing their thoughts on the books they're each personally reading, rather than choosing a book to read on a certain timeline together). Polly's connection to the young ladies in her school becomes more evident to her and to the reader as the story unfolds; her influence and affinity for the teens--as well as the new teen friend she meets through her DNA test journey--is a poignant juxtaposition to her struggle to start the family she wants to have. Quindlen is insightful about sharing small moments between characters that are packed with meaning and impact as well as offering peeks into characters' innermost thoughts, and she's tuned into how these elements ultimately build relationships and collectively build a life. The tone of this one let me know that the story might be messy, and it might not turn out satisfactorily for all involved, but that some version of a happy ending was coming without feeling unrealistically easy. I loved this novel. I received a prepublication edition of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Random House. More Reading You Might Like Anna Quindlen is also the author of After Annie , One True Thing , Every Last Thing , Object Lessons , and other books. You might also like these Bossy reviews of other heartwarming books, heartbreaking books, and books exploring issues around DNA .

The Life-and-Death Books I've Loved Who's with me in having an obsession with reading about facing mortality what make up a meaningful life (or death, or both) and by stories, true or fictionalized, about facing mortality memoirs I've loved on my first Greedy Reading List on the subject, Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality The examinations of mortality and of love and of living life fully are poignant and lovely, and the last here. 06 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin Cronin's debut novel explores mortality

If you're interested in books about mortality, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality.

Characters scoff, become resigned, or work to control their futures as they face issues surrounding their mortality For more Bossy reviews of books about mortality, please check out the titles at this link .

If you're interested in books about mortality and loss, check out the titles here .

plausibility, more development, and more reasons to feel invested in the story of three siblings making morally

The decision to take in Weybridge is morally clear to Libby, but the realities of the potential harm

But as naive as it may be, Elwood persists in pursuing justice and clinging to the moral high road just

The tone of Martyr! was tough for me to get a handle on for much of the book. The story is dark, nerve-racking, irreverent, tragic, and poignant. Late in the story a fateful connection made the story really take off and feel meaningful. His whole life has been a steady procession of him passionately loving what other people merely liked, and struggling, mostly failing, to translate to anyone else how everything mattered so much. Cyrus Shams is an orphaned young adult, the child of Iranian immigrants, and a recovering addict and alcoholic. He is also a self-doubting poet. As Cyrus sinks again and again into the careless, distracted, volatile ups and downs of a constant barrage of various drugs and alcohol, his obsession with the concept of a life worth living--and a notable death--seems to sometimes be all that tethers him to existence. As the book progresses, Cyrus seeks meaning in art, in a close, sometimes-sexual friendship, and in the idea of trying to craft his book. The level of his passion for the topic of martyrdom is off-putting to most of those around him, and his substance abuse keeps him at a distance from his feelings. Portions of Cyrus's book about martyrs are interspersed throughout the novel; at first I considered these to be part of his draft; later in the novel I imagined that these were excerpted from his future, completed work. The tone of Martyr! is difficult to pin down; there's dark humor, a haunting thread of tragedy, some irreverence, strange and off-balance moments, and a story that went in directions I didn't anticipate. For the majority of the novel I felt as though I appreciated the story more than I was taken in by it or enjoyed it. For me, the book really took off and intrigued me once Cyrus traveled to New York to visit an artist whose final exhibit was made up of living in the Brooklyn Museum and having conversations with visitors until her death. The ripples of their meeting and connection reached farther than I could have imagined, and this portion of the book was fascinating. I listened to Martyr! as an audiobook. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Kaveh Akbar is a poet and the author of the poetry collection Calling a Wolf a Wolf.

The Wedding People explores mortality, trust, layered connections, expectations, and love.

I loved the facing of mortality in the story--as well as the focus on literature and its power.

I also questioned the morals of the actual author, who continues to feel badly about the complications

when they first connect; I'm not sure why Brodie wouldn't simply make AJ's age 18 to avoid legal and moral

I was intrigued by the characters' moral and behavioral consistencies and their differences across worlds

climate change, pollution, and the consequences of abusing natural resources, as well as the questionable morality

I was intrigued by the curse, the ocean quest, and the explorations of moral quandaries around the use

privilege: the story revisits a working-class character from an earlier book--and presents society's moral

you might also be interested in the books on my Greedy Reading List Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality

03 How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur In How to Be Perfect , Michael Schur, the creator of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, uses 2,400 years of morality

their own way; the exploration and danger; the quickly developed and strong bonds; and, ultimately, moral

They revisit past missteps, moral gray areas and regrets, their previously singular focus upon "the work

The decision to take in Weybridge is morally clear to Libby, but the realities of the potential harm But as naive as it may be, Elwood persists in pursuing justice and clinging to the moral high road just

might also be interested in the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality

my favorite aging assassins and their quick-thinking, spry, deadly answers to those who have broken moral

Meanwhile Baby X explored interesting, complex, sometimes moral and ethical issues, including those around

I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period.

(The moral responsibility or weight of this process is not deeply examined in the book.) really delve into such feelings, and the characters seemed secure in what felt likely to be impossibly morally

the wealthiest elite on a lush mountaintop compound, and she loses more and more of herself and her morals