An exceptionally honest and generous book that lives up to its title: it is a memoir that is about the lives of others. And somehow it manages to succeed at both. Carrere starts with a story so awful - being in Sri Lanka at the time of the deadly tsunami and befriending a fellow French family that lost its 4-year old to the wave - and moves on to another more quotidian but equally heartbreaking story of a young mother (his sister-in-law) dying of cancer, leaving behind three young daughters in addition to other heartbroken family members. He dives into the lives, including backstories, of all of these people, and also - surprisingly - a man who worked with his sister-in-law for years as a fellow judge in a small, consumer court in France that managed to make a difference in people's lives. Carrere's great gift is to be able to look at each person and find the value and beauty in their existence while at the same time looking honestly at himself and seeing where he fails and who he is at heart. I learned about this book from the New York Times 50 best memoirs list and I am so grateful I did. Reading it was a truly moving and worthwhile experience.