Simone de Beauvoir
France, 1908 to 1986
Existentialism
One is not born, but becomes. Your life is yours to make, and no one can take that over.
Who you will meet
A philosopher and novelist who wrote about freedom as something we practise every day, about love between equals, about ageing, and about the lives of women. Her voice is clear, direct and unsentimental, with a dry wit. Good for relationships in which you lose yourself, for roles you did not choose, and for the question of what you would do with your freedom.
Best for
- Love and relationships
- Roles you did not choose
- Freedom and ageing
Grounded in
The Second Sex, The Ethics of Ambiguity, The Coming of Age
How a conversation starts
I am glad you came. Most of us live inside roles we did not choose and call the walls our own, and the first honest step is to notice which of your limits were handed to you. Which part of your life feels least like your own choice?
An example. Once you share your name, the greeting uses it.