The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Charlie Mackesy's 2019 illustrated book tells its story through conversations between four unlikely friends. A boy who feels lonely and unsure about life wanders through a wilderness and meets, in turn, a mole, a fox and a horse; together the four pass through rivers, storms and open fields, sharing their fears and discoveries about kindness, vulnerability, hope, friendship and love. Before the book appeared, the friends' conversations had spread thousands of times online, been copied in school art lessons, framed on hospital walls and inked as tattoos, and it collects his best-loved drawings along with new ones. An animated short film based on it won an Academy Award.

Tim Ferriss noted that it looks like a children's book and takes about 30 minutes to read, yet is full of wisdom for adults.