The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves

This made a profound effect on me upon reading. The author gives such insight to the human condition. A must read for anyone looking to understand why we as humans act the way we do especially when we are struggling with mourning or psychological problems. A perfect book.

This collection of observations captures the intimacy of the client/ therapist relationship through addressing tether emotional context of the stories. There is a lot for the reader to learn from the individual client cases, but the book seems to lack a central thesis or through line connecting the title to the collection of case studies. While I learned a good deal about these patients and about the author, and I can gather lessons from both, the implication of a “how” eluded to in the title seems to be mostly absent. Still a valuable read, but it’s not a guide.

This is sort of an Aesop's Fables for us all, from encounters of a psychoanalyst with his clients over his lengthy career. I read it in the first day I got this, and wanted more! I really hope he comes out with another book. I had several Ah-Ha moments of my own and I think anyone who reads this beautiful book would, too. Some people on here have complained that they wanted more details, more of the story of each character (and that did make me hesitate on purchasing, but I'm glad I decided to try it out myself) - but I actually disagree with them. The beauty of this book is that each story, or insight ends with a bang. You are brought into the scene adequately enough, with just the right amount of backstory, you are told the meat of the matter, and a little explanation on the reasoning behind the behavior. I think there were only 2 or 3 that I had a couple of questions about. But it is better to leave your audience wanting more, and I definitely did. I don't want to give too much away, just say that for me, personally, this book woke me up- and it was nice to relate to some stories, and I think anyone that enjoys studying human behavior would love to add this to their collection. For me, it will be one I reread when I need to remind myself how not to get stuck, to not be afraid of change, and all around how to be a better person.

This book goes a long way towards helping the reader understand how psychoanalysis works. It convinced me that if I ever need therapy, I would rather get cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) rather than psychoanalysis. With a psychoanalyst you might spend years and many thousands of dollars trying to understand yourself and the cause of your problems. While self-awareness may be a sufficient goal for some, I prefer CBT, the primary goal of which is to modify your behavior rather than your self-awareness. The stories in The Examined Life are a mixed bag. Perhaps two-thirds are really fascinating (up to a point). The rest just seem like filler. My main problem with the book is that the author does not reveal the resolution of many, if not most, of the stories. At the end of each chapter, I found myself asking, what happened next? Was the problem resolved or not? It was as if the book's editor inadvertently cut out the last few pages of every chapter. Maybe the author was unable to resolve these problems. Maybe he wasn't even seeking a resolution. He never tells the reader.

Grosz' work is clinically focused--not a theoretical text but rooted in psychoanalytic theory. I'm using it in a course called Literature and Psychology and finding it a wonderful adjunct to reading novels and short stories. He's a good writer and a good clinician; his work recalls Adam Phillips' ON KISSING, TICKLING AND BEING BORED. Each chapter tackles a single issue in a larger case--so Grosz zooms in on a lost wallet, or a long string of disasters, or a long forgotten memory. And out of these small matters we learn about how we hide things from ourselves. Grosz engages us in matters of sexuality, death, anxiety, success, failure, bed wetting and being boring. Grosz gets the reader, as he gets his patients, to feel and think, without being intrusive or overbearing. In all, I found the book unique in its ability to be subtly psychoanalytic.

This collection of vignettes from the practice of a skilled psychotherapist, who is a very good writer, helped me understand things about my life that have been mystifying for decades. I was lucky to find this book and read it. I am grateful.

A treasure trove of insights and humanity. A truly great read. Stephen Grosz’ plumbs the depth of hope and despair in one moving narrative after another. As cliched as it may be to say so, this book is a modern classic, a must-read for anyone interested in penetrating beyond the ordinary misconceptions about the inner dynamics of the therapeutic process.

In the United State, more and more psychotherapy has shifted into the Skinnerian say of behavioral modification, short term behaviors training. To read this book is in the presence of a great humanist who refuses to bow to the pragmatic modality of mass psychology and the TV banality of dr. Psychologist and a talk show host lay psychological. babbles. As a dance therapist working on the field, dr. Grosz stories are treasures and diamond in the interaction of a healer who utterly committed to his patents as well as using himself as a indicator of response. I am profoundly moved by his honesty and humility and his generosity of sharing his own personal stories. It is because we are so human that we can help other, as the Buddha shown .

One of the best psychological texts. I recommend this book.

Questo dovrebbe essere un libro di testo per tutti. E' pieno di utilissime lezioni di vita che renderebbero la vita piu' facile a molti. E' una raccolta di storie corte scritte da uno psicoterapista basato a Hampstead Londra. Le storie son basate su fatti appresi durante la terapia, o sono pensieri e memorie generati dall'incontro del terapista col paziente. Nel leggere queste storie ci si sofferma a pensare a nostre esperienze simili e a quanto sarebbe stato utile aver ricevuto una lezione di vita come quella appena letta

I liked Scott Penck but this book by Dr Stephan Grosz is a epic on the topic.. you will love every chapter of the book,and will make you appreciate the world around you in a entirely different perspective,afterall human nature stays the same.

A fascinating compendium of people with all sorts of problems, together with an understanding of the psychoanalist's way of treating them and own personal involvement with them. Extremely interesting.

This book makes you think. By sharing the stories of others, & his own thoughts, Grosz forces you to consider your own human reality. As a teacher, it made me think about a lot of my students & their own lives & challenges.