Pain, Aloneness, Grief, and Unjustice Hope? The past few years have painfully demonstrated how difficult life is. The world's injustice and absurdity, as well as personal trauma, can often make continuing to do so feel like too much. But may acknowledging the difficulties of the human condition offer consolation, or perhaps even hope? Could doing this help us find warmth, empathy, and humour in the lives we actually have and release us from the captivity of striving for our "best life"? Could it make us yearn for a better world? Kieran Setiya demonstrates how philosophy may guide us in finding our way in this fascinating and deeply personal book. He talks about his own struggle with chronic pain and the solace he found in understanding it. What can we learn about the value of human life through loneliness and bereavement, he wonders. He also looks at how we can resist injustice, find purpose in the midst of despair, and fail with grace. Life is Hard is a book for this time - a work of consolation and compassion - drawing on fiction, comedy, social science, and personal essay as well as ancient and current philosophy. By recognising what it means to be alive, it inspires us to seek justice for both ourselves and others.