It is often said that it is not the life that matters, but the courage one brings to it. Four acclaimed authors from the U.K., Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, discuss how the characters in their books summon the courage to overcome obstacles and live the kind of life they aspire to. Do writers get a kind of freedom, a way to problem solve issues from their own lives and even an opportunity to test their own mettle, through their characters? Matt De La Peña asks our guests to share how their characters face down obstacles, both internal and external, and what their work means to their own lives.