What makes the examined life so fulfilling is the way grosz moves from case study to essay, from narrative to hypothesis, including the reader in each mental step. As a counsellor, i was perhaps only naturally drawn to this book. The book distills the authors 25 years of work as a psychoanalyst and more. The characters in the examined life are as ordinary as they are perplexing, and uncovering the hidden emotions and motivations behind their behaviours is perhaps exciting because it gives us clues to our own. Echoing socrates statement that the unexamined life not worth living, psychoanalyst stephen grosz draws on his twentyfive 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 include early childhood and importance of attachment. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
One of the many attributes of a good psychoanalyst is restraint, and stephen groszs first book, the examined life, puts it to a graceful, literary. The astute insights grosz draw from his patients emotional struggles are some of the most poignant and striking features of the book. Self help audiobook stephen grosz the examined life. The examined life is an insightful and beautifully written book a series of slim, piercing chapters that read like a combination of chekhov and oliver sacks. Echoing socrates statement that the unexamined life not worth living, psychoanalyst stephen grosz draws on. The examined life distils over 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight, without the jargon. The examined life, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of it, with psychoanalyst stephen grosz. The examined life by stephen grosz im not a particularly regular reader of nonfiction because i love to lose myself in the imaginative possibilities of stories. Offering incisive psychoanalytical insight from stories told out of everyday lives, these tales by practising psychoanalyst stephen grosz present a moment of reflection, wisdom and some muchneeded sanity over the festive period. The examined life has been translated into more than twenty languages and was longlisted for the guardian first book award. The examined life, by stephen grosz, describes the process of psychoanalysis and how the ways people connect the past, present and future reflect their capacity to change.
The examined life is a 20 collection of essays by practising psychoanalyst stephen grosz, which is an attempt to distil over 50,000 hours of conversation into. But they also have a profound vision of the world, which, however distorted it is, makes me examine my own david giles, uk press syndication. In his work as a practising psychoanalyst, stephen grosz has spent the last twentyfive years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behaviour. The examined life, by stephen grosz, describes the process of. Stephen grosz the examined life annecdotist february 7, 2014 at 1. The book is divided into five distinct sections, with stories and breakthroughs lining with the prescribed theme of the chapter. O ne of the many attributes of a good psychoanalyst is restraint, and stephen groszs first book, the examined life, puts it to a graceful, literary use. The book was met with acclaim on both sides of the atlantic. A deeply affecting book michiko kakutani new york times. A sunday times bestseller, the examined life is his first book.
The cases span grosz s own career, and describe a range of patients who simultaneously display the fragility of the human mind and the strength and resourcefulness of people struggling to overcome their own, often overwhelming, problems. Echoing socrates statement that the unexamined life not worth living, psychoanalyst stephen grosz draws on his twentyfive years of work and more than 50,000 hours of conversations to form a collection of. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or. His book, the examined life, was published by chatto and windus uk in january 20 and spent the first three months after publication in the top ten of the sunday times nonfiction bestseller list. In 20, stephen grosz published his first book, the examined life, a collection of psychoanalytic insights gathered over twentyfive years of clinical work. The success of the examined life by the psychoanalyst stephen grosz has, i think, relatively little to do with his clinical knowhow. Grosz s book should give confidence to all psychoanalytic therapists that their work, much more remote from ordinary social.
How we lose and find ourselves absolutely for free at. Helen macdonald her book h is for hawk won many prizes, including the samuel johnson prize for nonfiction, the costa book of the year, the prix du meilleur livre etranger in france, and in the us was. A moving collection of short, personal encounters 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. Born in america, educated at the university of california, berkeley, and at oxford university, he lives in london. The examined life is a 20 collection of essays by practising psychoanalyst stephen grosz, which is an attempt to distil over 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight, without the jargon. The examined life, by the psychoanalyst stephen grosz who teaches at the institute of psychoanalysis and in the psychoanalytic unit at university college london shares the best literary. In stephen grosz book, the examined life, stephen gives the reader a look into the psychoanalytical process of a diverse and wide range of behavioral and mental maladaptions to their environments. Grosz writes with such artful selfeffacement that his cases seem to speak for themselves. They fizz and shimmer with the tension of the finest short story. Psychotherapy is fascinating stuff, some of the conclusions make sense and others seem to come out of nowhere. The examined life describes psychoanalysiss power the. The examined life by stephen grosz stephen grosz has been a psychoanalyst for the past 25 years and spent more than 50,000 hours with patients spanning children, adolescents, adults. A woman finds herself daydreaming as she returns home from a business trip. The examined life by stephen grosz penguin books australia.
The examined life 20 is a collection of short case studies, compiled by transatlantic psychoanalyst stephen grosz. A moving collection of short, personal encounters between a psychoanalyst and his patients, the examined life. It was suggested by a friend and im glad i picked up a copy. In his work as a practicing psychoanalyst, stephen grosz has spent the last twentyfive years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behaviour. In his work as a psychoanalyst, stephen grosz has spent the last 25 years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behaviour. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing. Neatly, grosz has collected the short insights into his work into 5 separate sections.
The examined life by stephen grosz do no harm by henry marsh dont drop the coffin. Stephen grosz born 1952 is a psychoanalyst and author. All sorrows can be borne if you put them in a story, or tell a story about them. In the examined life, stephen grosz, a psychoanalyst, looks back on interesting and perplexing cases with insight, humility and compassion. Sunday times besteller this book is about learning to live. Linking this with your following post on praise, its been a lovely experience for me that you picked up on my initial post and then went on to share your own different experiences of the book which has then fed back into my own thinking. How we lose and find ourselves by stephen grosz and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book was serialised as book of the week on bbc radio 4 in january 2012, and spent 10 weeks on the sunday times nonfiction bestseller list. This book distils more than 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight without the jargon. The examined life distills more than fifty thousand hours of conversation into pure psychological insight without the jargon. How we lose and find ourselves kindle edition by grosz, stephen.
An extraordinary book for anyone eager to understand the hidden motives that shape our lives. Stephen grosz the examined life read and download epub. This article is more than 6 years old with jane clayson in for tom ashbrook. Grosz is a psychoanalyst and the book gives little stories about the human experience as seen through his practice from early days to present. Instead, the examined life is a short examination on the human condition. And yet, in the examined life, psychoanalyst stephen grosz s account of his daytoday consultations with his patients, im reminded that factual writing can be every. These beautifully rendered tales illuminate the fundamental pathways echoing socrates timehonoured statement that the unexamined life is not worth living, psychoanalyst stephen grosz draws short, vivid stories from his 25fiveyear practice in order to track the collaborative journey of therapist and patient as they uncover the hidden feelings behind ordinary behaviour. The examined life is a series of case studies from psychoanalyst stephen grosz s 25year career. Stephen grosz s the examined life examining life a psychoanalyst distilled 50,000 hours of therapy into a book lucy scholes says its details are worthy of. Writing in the new york times, michiko kakutani said, the examined life shares the best literary qualities of freuds most persuasive work. Stephen grosz is a practicing psychoanalysthe has worked with patients for more than twentyfive years. Written as a series of anecdotal memoirs, stephen grosz puts across the frailties of the human condition with total reverence, understanding and compassion. As a reminder of the strangeness of human existence, the myriad ways we find of making ourselves unhappy and the perplexing resourcefulness of the unconscious mind, groszs book is a worthwhile addition to the literature of the examined life.
At its core, this book is about one ordinary process. In his work as a practicing psychoanalyst, stephen grosz has spent the last twentyfive years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behavior. The title of this book is the examined life and it was written by stephen grosz. The examined life distils more than 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight without the jargon. What can a christmas carol teach us about how people change. The examined life describes psychoanalysiss power the new.
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