What if literature were considered a technology like any other, capable of changing lives? Wonderworks shows us how the writers we revere-Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, Angelou, Ferrante, and dozens more-each used unique literary inventions to solve problems that science could not crack: not how to start a fire or build a phone, but how to live and love; how to maintain courage in the face of death; how to overcome heartache, failure, and doubt to find joy, hope, and purpose. Written by a leading authority on the study of story science, Wonderworks uncovers twenty-five of the most potent and empowering inventions in the history of literature that can be found in everything from ancient Chinese lyrics to Shakespeare, fairy tales to comic books, biblical tragedies to children's stories, classic romances to slave narratives, explaining the neuroscience behind how they alleviate grief, anxiety, loneliness, and pessimism while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, and healing. Book jacket.