The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Show reviews
    • Interviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
  • Music
    • Live music
    • Album reviews
    • Interviews
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
    • Fringe
    • Vault Festival
    • Interviews
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Interviews
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join the team
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Culture Literature

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz | Book review
23rd February 2014
Avatar photo
Georgia Mizen
Avatar
Georgia Mizen
23 February 2014

So significant that it should be read by absolutely everyone, Stephen Grosz’s The Examined Life is a masterpiece of observation and empathy. By turns disturbing and intensely moving, this book explores layers of human experience through the psychoanalyst’s lens. Presented in 30 case studies, Grosz instils in his reader a sense of peering into the brains of others, which has the curious, if unsurprising, side effect of causing one to question own thoughts, dreams and actions.

Some of these tales are heart-wrenching, others concerning, and all with the strength to impact profoundly. This is partly their power as pointers of human nature and its quirks, and partly Grosz’s storytelling, which is gripping and direct. One senses a close sympathy of Grosz with his patients, one that has gone deeper than a professional duty to reflect his ability to tease out people’s intricate secrets, complexities and insecurities as the clearly talented psychoanalyst he is.

This is a book that stays with you after the final page, for reasons beyond those that can be named here. Reading this is a personal experience, one that does not occur that often and one that makes these stories all the more authoritative. Forget self-help books, read The Examined Life as a mirror into your own world – you might be surprised what you might find there. Grosz has bestowed a gift on humanity, and thanks must surely go to his patients, who are inspirational in more ways than they know.

★★★★★

Georgia Mizen

The Examined Life is published by Chatto & Windus at the paperback price of £8.99, and is available now in the UK. For further information visit here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Literature

“I always felt like it was a crazy job – an amazing job… these people almost had superpowers”: Tomohisa Yamashita and Fleur Geffrier on Drops of God

Selina Sondermann
Read More

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan

★★★★★
Laura Boyle
Read More

The Buddhist on Death Row by David Sheff

★★★★★
Laura Boyle
Read More

Walk with Me in Sound – the audiobook: A harmonious introduction to a mindful lifestyle

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Midnight in Everwood by MA Kuzniar

★★★★★
Elizaveta Kolesova
Read More

The Simplest Gift by Stefanos Xenakis

★★★★★
Elizaveta Kolesova
Read More

Mothers, Fathers and Others by Siri Hustvedt

★★★★★
Elizaveta Kolesova
Read More

Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love by Huma Qureshi

★★★★★
Elizaveta Kolesova
Read More

The Snow Song by Sally Gardner

★★★★★
Elizaveta Kolesova
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Candy Cane Lane
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • “It’s super important to put attention on childhood, it shapes who children become”: Lila Avilés on Tótem at the Belfast Film Festival
    Culture
  • Earth Mama
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Tom A Smith at Camden Assembly
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Earth Mama
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Candy Cane Lane
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Doll Factory
    ★★★★★
    Show review
  • Geni
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Earth Mama
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Fallen Leaves
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • The Doll Factory
    ★★★★★
    Show review
  • Tom A Smith at Camden Assembly
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
  • Contact us
  • Join the team
  • Subscribe to the mailing list
  • Support us
  • Writing for The Upcoming

Copyright © 2011-2023 FL Media