Christophe André comes back not with a new mindfulness treatise, but a warm useful essay on the theme of consolation.

Why is this topic so important?
Sorrow, deception, frustration, sickness, grief or simply boredom, our lives are peppered with adversities, both small and large, that have to be dealt with. Sometimes, nothing seems to work in this hostile reality. That’s when consolation is needed. Or rather, consolations in the plural, pick us up every time we stumble. And even if we are not confronted with adversities ourselves, they often befall someone close to us, and so we are then transformed into the consoler.

Why is this topic so useful?
What use is consolation? To carry on, to rediscover our taste for life and to never give up. We cannot live without these multitudes of consolations that are at the heart of our existence. This is why from birth humans are endowed with all forms of consolation, such as empathy and altruism.

What is new about it?
Consolation is an ancient topic, usually seen from either the perspective of the consoler (hence “Consolations” being a literary and philosophical genre that stretches back to antiquity), or from that of the sufferer (therefore accounts by those who have lost a loved one). Christophe André reviews a vast group of all forms of consolation and describes the processes. He also clarifies the recently discovered concept of “post-traumatic growth” that allows us to live better lives after having dealt with adversities in life. And he also explores the dimension of self-consolation.

A unique insight
Throughout his books, Christophe André has the gift of flushing out themes that are sometimes invisible in psychology, such as self-esteem, feelings of guilt, and imperfections. This time, he is interested in the beneficial process that dries our tears, guides our ways and brings us back to life. For the first time he also adds a personal dimension to his own experience of consolations following a serious illness, thus prompting us to reflect on the meaning of life in a more profound way.

The strengths of the novel:
• The big comeback of Christophe André, France’s favorite shrink!
• A useful book for personal progression despite the wounds of life that touches each and every one of us, above all in times of anxiety and turmoil.
• A book that commingles the experience of a psychologist with the confessions of a man.