How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment

by Skye C Cleary

How to Be Authentic (called How to Be You: Simone de Beauvoir and the Art of Authentic Living in the UK edition) is an exploration of French philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) and her thinking about life and how to live it. It’s an existentialist approach, which means enormous freedom but also responsibility. If you haven’t read The Second Sex, the book is also useful for understanding Beauvoir’s thinking on what it means to be a woman.