How Tolstoy’s Ivan Ilyich Kick-Started My Zeal For Living A More Content Life

In Leo Tolstoy’s short novel, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Ivan, a middle-aged lawyer who lived a life of mediocrity, devoid of many emotions, busy trying to earn the esteem of the people in his circle, was struck by a sudden illness. He laid down dying and reflected on his mortality. Like those around him, he had always considered death as something that happened to others.