The author addresses the theme of narrative identity in an interpretative itinerary that employs sociological, psychological and psychoanalytic concepts to explore the circular relationship between sense of identity, self/other recognition and the space-time perspective. Observing the solitude of the individual in late-modern society, the second part of the book proposes a way out: becoming actively involved in the crafting of our lives by writing our own story. Autobiography is not a melancholic withdrawal but a way to restart the journey of life with greater awareness of one's limits and possibilities. In addition to being a learning process, developing the negatives of one's life can foster a sense of both serenity and selfresponsibility. The story could have been different, but when we try to tell it honestly we may learn to love it a little more or at least see and accept it for what it truly is.

Pierluca Birindelli PhD, Sociologist and Cultural Anthropologist, is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Alumnus and Docent (University of Helsinki). He teaches at Gonzaga University in Florence, International Studies Institute and New Haven University. He has authored a number of articles addressing the themes of individual and collective identity, three books on youth and generations, a monograph about self-identity in late modernity. He is also the author of the book The Passage from Youth to Adulthood: Narrative and Cultural Thresholds (2014). His current research project is a comparative study: "The Cultural Experience of International Students: Narratives from North and South Europe".