“I read 'The Bell Jar' as an adolescent and, like most teenagers, had no problem identifying with a young woman who had everything going for her - looks, talent, opportunity, with her 'whole life ahead of her,' yadda, yadda, yadda - yet was spiraling into misery.”

American author, journalist, and cultural commentator

Lionel Shriver is an American author, journalist, and cultural commentator. She is known for fiction and for her sharp public commentary, especially through her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. Her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Beyond her fiction, she has worked as a journalist and as a commentator on cultural questions, which gives her writing a distinctly observant and argumentative edge.