LETTERSBACK
Letters back to the Ancients
Every month, our readers can write back to the philosophers, and they may answer. No names, no judgement, no perfection. Only pure honesty, truth and everything that cannot be said out loud. We publish those always with your permission and never with your name.
Why I publish them
Most of us think we're the only one carrying what we carry. Then you read a letter from a stranger, from across the world, and it says exactly what you couldn't.
Every reply that reaches me is read. Each month I may choose one and answer it in the philosopher's voice, here, for everyone. If it helps even one other reader feel less alone, more seen and heard, then it was worth writing.
JUNE 2026 * FROM ONE OF OUR FIRST READERS
What I received
Anonymous, UK
"Epictetus,
You asked what I believe enslaves me. I sat with that for four days.
The true answer is this: I am forty-three years old. And every morning I still dress for my mother's approval. She died six years ago. I built the career she would have been proud of. I bought the flat she would have approved of. I cannot tell where she ends and I begin.
You said suffering comes from confusion between what is ours and what is not. What do you do when the thing that isn't yours has been inside you so long you can no longer see the join?
I don't expect an answer. But I've never said this to anyone who didn't immediately try to fix it."
What Epictetus replied
Edinburgh, June 2026
"You named it.
Not the comfortable version, but the true one.
The question of where she ends and you begin is not a question of grief. It is a question of habit.
Every morning when you dress for her approval, you are making a choice.
It does not feel like one.
The longest habits never do.
Try this tomorrow, before any decision, ask: "Is this mine, or is this hers?"
Don't change anything yet. Just notice.
The noticing is where the join becomes visible."
The replies are written by Yana Yaneva in the philosopher's voice, inspired by their teachings. They are creative interpretation, for reflection only, and not historical documents or professional advice.
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