Who can argue with the sentiment that “life is hard?” Most of us have some experience with loss, disappointment and failure. Philosopher Kieran Setiya has thought about the adversity that life throws our way — he’s had to come to terms with chronic pain that’s hounded him for much of his adult life.

In his new book, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, Setiya, shares wisdom for coping with sorrow, loneliness, injustice and pain, gathered from great thinkers like Plato, Shakespeare, Kant, Woolf, Didion and more, and advises us not to embrace excessive positivity.