Translating Life is a collection of essays and interviews compiled by Shirley Chew and Alistair Stead, both of whom are professors at Leeds University in England. The majority of the contributors are from English universities, notably Leeds University and the University of Liverpool. The work is called Translating Life because it deals less directly with translation of text and more with practical metaphors for the act of translation. Translating words is treated with less importance than translating connotations, feelings and personalities, the primary elements of human life