For the past three years twenty-five mice lived in the house of philosopher and writer Eva Meijer. They came from Utrecht University’s laboratory and had been lucky enough to be part of a project to rehome laboratory animals. Meijer took care of the mice and learned, as best as they could, to live with them. In The Life of Mice, Eva Meijer argues against the outgrowths of anthropocentric thinking that put humans at the center of our society. Along the lines of bird researcher Len Howard, whom Meijer depicts in their bestselling novel Bird Cottage , Meijer also suggests a different way of studying animals: only by looking closely at them can you get to know them. Indeed, living with the mice showed Meijer that we can learn a whole lot from them - including about ourselves. Meijer bought a multi-storey mouse house with a plexiglas front so that the mice and their behaviour were clearly visible. They played music to them, talked to them, and fed them. Each mouse reacted differently to Meijer. Some timid, others inquisitive. A few became friends.