The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness

The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness is a fictional journal of the social sciences dedicated to the exploration of hopelessness in its many forms-what it means, where it comes from, and how it may even be put to good use.

• Samantha Bowden reflects on the death of her nephew. In dying, she writes, he forced her to go on living, if only to carry the burden of his memory.
• Reeling from the poor sales of his debut record, Scott Keener dives into the meaning of failure-in art and in life.
• Lawyer Mills Block shares his struggles in living with social anxiety and his time spent representing Lionel Mering, a man wrongly convicted of the murder of his child.
• Mira Orlando introduces us to a unique science through which she has sought to escape the world of depression by exploring its terrible logic.

Also included are other bits-letters, recent events, books, and corrections-that may entertain or distract us for a little while.

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"The collection creates a community of voices that feel individual yet interwoven, as if the pain connects them in unseen ways. In examining what it means to live with unresolved sorrow, each essay guides readers to confront, and even appreciate, the contradictions between resilience and vulnerability."

- Kirkus Reviews