Empathy and imagination can be found in plenty of non-fiction.

I enjoy reading fiction, mostly for escapism although the good ones also enrich me, but there is plenty of non-fiction that can feed those qualities. Non-fiction that focuses on the psychology, motives and feelings of people, and focuses on special, different , or creative individuals, might dk just that.

The autobiography "Lab Girl" comes to mind.

Sure, you do. Most folks care about how they feel. Life doesn't. It won't. It can't.

Seems like you're misunderstanding what is being said. Life doesn't care if you have ambition or have a large family and everyone is happy. It doesn't care if you're apathetic and unhappy. It doesn't care if you have cancer or if you were cheated on. It does not care. It cannot care. Life is not sapient nor sentient. It merely is.