apples

What inspired me about Marcus Aurelius was the sense of speaking the truth.  Writing the truth because you have no expectation of an audience.  That's how I was trying to write this book.

There's nothing self-indulgent about the way he discusses himself.  He's almost seeing himself entirely from the outside as a stranger would trying to understand what he is capable of, what he is not capable of and how he reacts in various situations.    

Zadie Smith speaking to Eleonar Wachtel about her new book of essays  (Intimations) written during the pandemic and how Aurelius' book, Meditations, inspired her.