--- description: Find out why "The Idea of an Entire Life" is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'The Idea of an Entire Life' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa881a4ef99aa0fd/6998cb3ea97fc03f1da74d58/100_Books_2025_The-Idea-of-an-Entire-Life-Billy-Ray-Belcourt.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 12, 2025 # The Idea of an Entire Life by Billy-Ray Belcourt by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  “A native truth: the present is as beautiful as it is brutal,” Billy-Ray Belcourt writes in the first poem in his collection _The Idea of an Entire Life_. In this line, Belcourt, who is from the Driftpile Cree Nation, sets the tone of the entire work. Belcourt’s poetry finds parallels between his native and queer ancestors as much as it draws connections between the “tragedy” and “luxury” of living, calling attention to the “catastrophe” of our current political and social moment while also celebrating the “heaven” of being able to “dance” through it. Belcourt reminds readers, in verses that are both thought-provoking and accessible, that the courage to live authentically is what allows us to endure these tensions and to live fully. For Belcourt, that means turning toward literature. But the beauty of this collection is that he opens the door for whatever revelatory and liberating things might allow the reader to “keep imagining.” —_Rebecca Schneid_ **_These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser._** **Buy Now:** _The Idea of an Entire Life_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780807022405 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3LOsays "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329513/the-idea-of-an-entire-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329513/the-idea-of-an-entire-life/"},"headline":"'The Idea of an Entire Life' Is on the 100 Must-Read Books of 2025","datePublished":"2025-11-12T13:00:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:02:41.777Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329513/the-idea-of-an-entire-life/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","ecommerce","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa881a4ef99aa0fd/6998cb3ea97fc03f1da74d58/100_Books_2025_The-Idea-of-an-Entire-Life-Billy-Ray-Belcourt.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa881a4ef99aa0fd/6998cb3ea97fc03f1da74d58/100_Books_2025_The-Idea-of-an-Entire-Life-Billy-Ray-Belcourt.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329513/the-idea-of-an-entire-life/","name":"'The Idea of an Entire Life' Is on the 100 Must-Read Books of 2025"}}]}] ```