Cultivating self-reflection to define one's place in the world could bring a measure of global peace if a critical mass of people did it.
That's the sage belief of 26-year-old Yugoslav-born writer Téa Obreht, whose first novel, "The Tiger's Wife," is on numerous Top 10 lists and destined to be a book club staple for years to come.
From Muslim-Roman Catholic roots, Ms. Obreht was uprooted from her homeland in 1992 at the age of 7 when Yugoslavia began its bloody breakup. Her family moved to Cyprus, then Egypt, and finally settled in the US when she was in middle school. The adjustment to many cultures and traditions at such a young age, perhaps, is behind her firm belief that happiness is found by looking within oneself.
"When you're at peace with yourself and understand what drives you ... if everyone sought this, it would allow people to find a higher threshold of contentment," says Obreht. "And that would really make the world a more blissful place."
Obreht's acclaimed novel takes place in a postwar Balkan country and is narrated by a young doctor searching for clues to her grandfather's recent death. "There is an element of the book about finding a certain, unique way to look at the world," says Obreht. "It's similar to this idea of finding your own answers to things that work for you."
It's important to listen to yourself – "find small daily things in life that are gratifying" – and not be defined solely based on what you do for a living or what others expect of you, she says.
– Whitney Eulich
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