Alain de Botton is the author of a number of books that try to throw light on the big challenges of our lives. His books have been sold in thirty-five countries and many have been international bestsellers, including How Proust Can Change Your Life, Essays in Love and The Art of Travel. He is the founder of two social enterprises, the first promoting architecture, Living Architecture (www.living-architecture.co.uk), which gets top architects to build holiday homes for rental by everyone. The second enterprise is The School of Life (www.theschooloflife.com).