In this tiny book, Shafak examines how the pandemic unveiled structural and systemic issues in our ways of life that were unsustainable from the get-go, even before the COVID crisis.

Rather than writing about what it does to the world or societies, Shafak focuses on what living in a constant state of anxiety does to us, people. She talks about the identity crisis we are all experiencing to a certain extent and about anger, apathy, and a shortage of knowledge and wisdom. She argues for the importance of being fearlessly optimistic and the role storytelling and books have in that endeavor.

She mixes personal anecdotes to political science theory, the words of poets and activists to empirical data, and creates a little manifesto for self-love, self-care, and changing the world - all under 100 tiny pages.