The Examined Life - Hardcover

Grosz, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1471352102 ISBN 13: 9781471352102

Publisher: Windsor, 2013

Synopsis

**As heard on Book of the Week, Radio 4**. 'This book is about change.' We are all storytellers - we make stories to make sense of our lives. But it is not enough to tell tales. There must be someone to listen. In his work as a practising psychoanalyst, Stephen Grosz has spent the last twenty-five years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behaviour. The Examined Life distils over 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight, without the jargon. This extraordinary book is about one ordinary process: talking, listening and understanding. Its aphoristic and elegant stories teach us a new kind of attentiveness. They also unveil a delicate self-portrait of the analyst at work, and show how lessons learned in the consulting room can reveal as much to him as to the patient. These are stories about our everyday lives: they are about the people we love and the lies that we tell; the changes we bear, and the grief. Ultimately, they show us not only how we lose ourselves but how we might find ourselves too. Praise for The Examined Life: '...it will leave you wiser about humanity than you were when you picked it up.'- Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree. 'A fascinating collection of quiet stories about very real human predicaments: the listening cure at its best.' - Patrick McGrath, author of Asylum. 'I couldn't put this down - I read about other people, but learned about myself...No preaching, no cliches--just wisdom.' - Victoria Hislop, author of The Thread'. 'There is a rare integrity in the writing: no showing off, just honest attention to each trusted relationship.' - Ruth Padel, author of 52 Ways of Looking at a Poem. 'This gripping book offers psychological solutions to some extremely complex human puzzles and is full of wisdom and insight.'- Sophie Hannah, author of Little Face. (Large Print Edition)

About this title

Review:

"Grosz's vignettes are so brilliantly put together that they read like pieces of bare, illuminating fiction.... It is this combination of tenacious detective work, remarkable compassion and sheer, unending curiosity for the oddities of the human heart that makes "The Examined Life" utterly captivating." "--The Sunday Times"

"By turns edifying and moving.... Grosz offers astute insights into the perplexities of everyday life." "--Financial Times"

"Stephen Grosz has condensed thousands of hours of consultations into this gem.... Grosz writes lucidly and with sensitivity, treating his patients with respect. The cases are sprinkled with wise reflections.... Highly recommended." "--The Independent"

Shares the best literary qualities of Freud s most persuasive work. It is an insightful and beautifully written book a series of slim, piercing chapters that read like a combination of Chekhov and Oliver Sacks. [A] deeply affecting book.--Michiko Kakutani"

Magnetically compelling. . . . The result is a shared sense of humanity, understanding and even hope.--Kate Tuttle

Beautifully written. . . . The insights here will cut close to the bone.--Dinah Loon

Grosz s vignettes are so brilliantly put together that they read like pieces of bare, illuminating fiction utterly captivating.--Robert Collins"

By turns edifying and moving. Grosz offers astute insights into the perplexities of everyday life.--Trisha Andres

Impossible to put down it will leave you wiser about humanity than you were when you picked it up.--Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree"

Shares the best literary qualities of Freud's most persuasive work. It is... an insightful and beautifully written book... a series of slim, piercing chapters that read like a combination of Chekhov and Oliver Sacks. [A] deeply affecting book.--Michiko Kakutani

Grosz's vignettes are so brilliantly put together that they read like pieces of bare, illuminating fiction... utterly captivating.--Robert Collins

Impossible to put down... it will leave you wiser about humanity than you were when you picked it up.--Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree

Book Description:

This book is about learning to live. In simple stories of encounter between a psychoanalyst and his patients, The Examined Life reveals how the art of insight can illuminate the most complicated, confounding and human of experiences.

About this edition

• Publisher: Windsor
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1471352102
• ISBN 13: 9781471352102
• Binding: Hardcover