I recently discovered a kindred spirit in Maureen Corrigan, author of Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books. As a Georgetown professor and book reviewer for NPR’s “Fresh Air” program, Corrigan is lucky...

Sometimes reading really depressing books can be good for you. From Aristotle’s classic theory of catharsis to the modern ‘misery memoir,’ I explore how encountering literary tragedy can actually be uplifting.   The classical t...