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The Examined Life

How We Lose and Find Ourselves

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The Examined Life

By: Stephen Grosz
Narrated by: Peter Marinker
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTELLER**

This book is about learning to live.

Echoing Socrates' statement that the unexamined life not worth living, psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz draws on his twenty-five years of work and more than 50,000 hours of conversations to form a collection of beautifully rendered tales that illuminate the human experience.

These are stories about everyday lives: from a woman who finds herself daydreaming as she returns home from a business trip to a young man loses his wallet, to the more extreme examples: the patient who points an unloaded gun at a police officer and the compulsive liar who convinces his wife he's dying of cancer. The resulting journey will spark new ideas about who we are and why we do what we do.

'A captivating journey... These are universal themes, insights into an emotional world we inhabit, often with equal difficulty. A wonderful book' Sunday Times

©2013 Stephen Grosz (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Essays Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Nonfiction Mental Health

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Critic reviews

I was enthralled… profound and moving, packed large ideas into a slim volume (Lucy Lethbridge)
With deceptive simplicity and gentle wisdom, Grosz teases out a lesson or chases down a fugitive insight. I have distrusted psychoanalysis for years, but I would leap onto Grosz’s couch (James McConnachie)
This moving book of patient portraits by the psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz will make the reader think of Freud’s keenly observed and literary-minded case studies. Writing with sympathy and insight, Mr Grosz distils 25 years of work into a series of slim, piercing chapters that read like a combination of Chekhov and Oliver Sacks (Michiko Kakutani)
The success of The Examined Life by the psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz has, I think, relatively little to do with his clinical know-how; it rests, as Freud's did, on his story-telling abilities (Rachel Cooke)
Grosz is a superb storyteller and tells lots of his patients' stories with sensitivity, but also with great acuity. You might keep thinking you recognise things about people you know (William Leith)
A wonderful example of a book that provides a safe space that can be used as a base to explore the less safe (Alex Clark)
Riveting... Grosz is adept at uncovering the little lies we tell ourselves and he's very perceptive about the potentially positive effects of bad experiences
Because of [Grosz's] skill at getting to the heart of the matter, we forget the distance separating us and become quickly involved in the lives of those he discusses
Absolutely fascinating. You’ll be amateur psychoanalysing yourself and everyone you know
It made me stop and think, and it has stayed with me. Grosz is a superb storyteller and tells lots of his patients' stories with sensitivity, but also with great acuity. You might keep thinking you recognise things about people you know (William Leith)
All stars
Most relevant
This book offers a great insight into psychodynamic theory in practice and I highly recommend it to fellow students of counselling and psychotherapy. The bureaux cases studies make this a really accessible book and easy to fit into your reading/study schedule. It’s also really relatable and I gained insights into myself along the way.

Bitesize case studies for students of counselling

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This is not a self-help book and that’s a great thing. You won’t find shortcuts or advice so that you don’t have to deal with going to therapy yourself. It’s an interesting bunch of short stories of cases that are both entertaining and fascinating.

Fascinating for anyone who’s interested in psychoanalysis

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loved all of it and re- listened to a lot, to catch the meanings and fully understand. loved that these are written in an accessible manner and you can learn and listen to these case studies. I was in deep thought about them often and would pause.

excellent accessible case studies

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The author spoke about many patients that I felt I could relate to, there are a lot of assumptions made but regardless of if they are true or not, they are useful to reflect on. Its soothing the read that time changes perspective and I felt like a message from the author was that we are all doing our best with what we have now. Really enjoyed this book

Helped me learn some things about myself

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My title is from a new word I learned from this very thoughtful and articulate book.
It’s funny when you approach and read this book. Am I looking for glimpses of myself and seeking deeper understanding or just interested in others life stories? That for you to decide on your reasons for reading and either way, you will not be disappointed.
There is a broad array of redacted cases caringly described and analysed by the author. All interesting in their own way.
Very well narrated in a calm and paced tone.

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