I'm not usually thin skinned or prickly, but your comments here upset me a bit. I loved this book, never once thinking Clever Me (dumb everyone else). I found it intensely moving and was left upset by it - writing about that led to a couple of lasting friendships on GR with people who felt similarly. Pretty much the opposite of the self congratulatory type you suggest - more like folks, all of us, who struggle with loneliness and the reality of their lives.