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Lost in Thought: the Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life

Lost in Thought: the Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life

Role: Author
Zena Hitz is the recipient of the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, a Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Humanities stipend. Lost in Thought is currently being translated into Arabic, Catalan, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While many forms of leisure meet these needs, Zena Hitz writes, few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life, whether that of a bookworm, an amateur astronomer, a birdwatcher, or someone who takes a deep interest in one of countless other subjects. Drawing on inspiring examples, from Socrates and Augustine to Malcolm X and Elena Ferrante, and from films to Hitz’s own experiences as someone who walked away from elite university life in search of greater fulfillment, Lost in Thought is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.