Elif Batuman on her selection: I chose to read from Epictetus because he has always made me feel better at times when I have felt anxious about things outside of my control. Basically, Epictetus transforms “things out of my control” from something I have to worry extra about, into something I get to be proud of myself for not worrying about at all! For Epictetus, freeing ourselves from worry is a heroic feat, like being in the Olympics. I wrote about him once here. Discourses and Selected Writings at Bookshop.org Music: "Shift of Currents" by Blue Dot Sessions // CC BY-NC 2.0