When literature loves misery

“Misery memoirs sell because today it has become commonplace to seek meaning through degrading experiences. In providing graphic details about people’s lived humiliations, these memoirs make us feel more comfortable with our own existences. It is sad that we need to gain a sense of meaning and calm by reading about the degradation of others; yet the fact is, we live in a world where the victim trumps the hero. Some writers are happy to invent stories of painful abuse because they recognise that being a victim has public appeal today. The public is no longer very interested in stories of happy and purposeful childhoods, since such stories must surely have been written by people ‘in denial’ who cannot face the bitter truth about just how badly their parents hurt them….”Frank Furedi, “Emotional Strip Tease.”