The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz [Mini Review]

“The Examined Life” written by Stephen Grosz, a practicing psychoanalyst. The book is organised into sections very loosely by theme and is the retelling of particularly memorable clients’ stories, with an intriguing focus and reflection on the impact they had on him and the lessons he learnt from their experiences.

The book is 240 pages long and each case (i.e. each chapter) runs only 5-10 pages each – everything inessential has been stripped away. I’ve seen one or two criticisms of the book for this reason, but I really like the way Grosz writes. I’m not interested in detailed descriptions of his office or what the whether was like, and so if like me you’re more interested in the stories and their meanings I’m sure you will find them compelling.