Lives Other Than My Own: A Memoir Spiral-Bound | September 4, 2012

"Moving…Precise and measured…Through interviews with friends and relatives of both families, [Carrère] creates powerful portraits that celebrate ordinary lives."—The New Yorker

In Sir Lanka, a tsunami sweeps a child out to sea, her grandfather helpless against the onrushing water. In France, a woman suffers from cancer and dies, leaving her husband and small children bereft. What links these two catastrophes is the presence of Emmanuel Carrère who manages to find consolation and even joy as he immerses himself in lives other than his own. The result is a heartrending narrative of endless love, a meditation on courage in the face of adversity, and an intimate look at the beauty of ordinary lives.