Read By: Elif Batuman

<p><em>Elif Batuman on her selection:</em></p> <p>I chose to read from Epictetus because he has always made me feel better at times when I have felt anxious about things outside of my control. Basically, Epictetus transforms “things out of my control” from something I have to worry extra about, into something I get to be proud of myself for not worrying about at all! For Epictetus, freeing ourselves from worry is a heroic feat, like being in the Olympics. I wrote about him once <a href= "https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/19/how-to-be-a-stoic">here</a>.</p> <p><a href= "https://bookshop.org/books/discourses-and-selected-writings/9780140449464"> <em>Discourses and Selected Writings</em></a> at Bookshop.org</p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Music: "Shift of Currents" by Blue Dot Sessions // CC BY-NC 2.0</span></p>