Books like The Empathy Exams Essays

A rigorous, deeply felt exploration of how we witness and absorb the pain of others. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The Empathy Exams Essays.

contemplative
heavy
intimate
searching

01
The Opposite of Loneliness
Marina Keegan
A poignant, fiercely hopeful time capsule of early adulthood that captures the terrifying thrill of standing on the edge of the rest of your life.
Shares:
- intimate
- vulnerable
- earnest
02
Consider the lobster, and other essays
David Foster Wallace · 2005
A dizzying, hyper-articulate plunge into the absurdities and moral anxieties of modern American life.
Shares:
- earnest
03
Trick Mirror
Jia Tolentino
A razor-sharp, dizzying plunge into the funhouse mirror of modern internet culture and millennial self-delusion.
Feels:
- anxious
- hyper-connected
- reflective
04
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
Jon Ronson
A wry, deeply empathetic, and quietly terrifying exploration of what happens when the internet decides to destroy your life.
Feels:
- unsettling
- tense
- thought-provoking
05
Men Explain Things To Me
Rebecca Solnit
A sharp, validating intellectual toolkit that transforms everyday frustrations into a profound critique of systemic silencing.
Shares:
- intellectual
06
The faraway nearby
Rebecca Solnit
A lyrical, associative journey through the landscapes of memory, illness, and the stories that bind us together.
Shares:
- contemplative
- intimate
- intellectual
07
Goodbye, Again
Jomny Sun
A touching and hilarious illustrated collection that gently explores the complexities of mental health, happiness, and belonging.
Shares:
- earnest
08
Broken
Jenny Lawson
A wildly funny, deeply vulnerable plunge into the chaotic reality of living with severe mental illness.
Shares:
- vulnerable
09
How to Be Alone
Jonathan Franzen
A sharp, introspective defense of reading, privacy, and the quiet spaces of the mind in an increasingly noisy world.
Shares:
- intellectual
- earnest
10
Shrill
Lindy West
A hilarious, battle-tested manifesto for taking up space and refusing to apologize for it.
Shares:
- vulnerable
11
Minor Feelings
Cathy Park Hong
A razor-sharp, deeply vulnerable dissection of the dissonance between American optimism and the reality of marginalized existence.
Shares:
- intimate
- vulnerable
12
Upstream
Mary Oliver
A quiet, luminous invitation to step into the woods, slow down, and pay fierce attention to the beauty of the world.
Shares:
- contemplative
- intimate
- earnest

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