Once the province of priests and philosophers, the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary. How do we console ourselves and each other in an age of unbelief? Historian and writer Michael Ignatieff shows how figures in history, literature, music, and art have looked to one another across time to recover hope and resilience. From the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus, Anna Akhmatova, and Primo Levi, Ignatieff recreates the moments when great men and women found both the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue forward.

"Consolation is so terribly important. Perhaps now more than ever. In this regard, Ignatieff has done us a great service with this moving and affecting series of reflections."—LA Review of Books