---
product_id: 196810749
title: "The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves"
brand: "stephen grosz"
price: "A$19"
currency: AUD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 23
url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/196810749-the-examined-life-how-we-lose-and-find-ourselves
store_origin: AU
region: Australia
---

# The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves

**Brand:** stephen grosz
**Price:** A$19
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by stephen grosz
- **How much does it cost?** A$19 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/196810749-the-examined-life-how-we-lose-and-find-ourselves)

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- stephen grosz enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Images

![The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41wUdJyxbAL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐ 







  
  
    The Unexamined Life
  

*by J***S on Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2019*

Maybe I just didn't "get"this book.  I didn't feel that the author was vested in the material.  These were all stories or observations, not real life to him.  Some words I think of to describe the book include dry, uninteresting, unfinished, boring, impersonal, and depressing.  I found many of the stories of sessions with his patients odd and/or incomplete.  I was sometimes confused by conclusions he drew.An example: In "Why patients envy their children" the author recounts a dream of one of his patients that, for him (author), it neatly packages the stages of life.  In the dream, the patient's grandparents are at the top of a mountain, his parents just below them, he is further down the mountain, and his children are at the foot of the mountain (get it?  life is a mountain - you start at the bottom, climb up, and die at the top).  At one point in the dream, the patient hides and his children pass him on the mountain.  He steps back, sees his children above him, and feels euphoric.  The author says the patient unconsciously wants to switch places with his children so he will have a longer future ahead of him.  Since this is in a section about envying one's children, I am left to assume that the author wants us to see this patient as envying his children for having a longer life than he has.  Wait a minute?  Isn't it possible the that the euphoria the patient felt was fatherly pride that his children were "doing better" in life than he was?  That they were "further along" in life than he was and that pleased him?As I said at the beginning, the problem may be that I just didn't "get" this book.  Based on other reviews, many people have, and I am happy for those people.  For me, it was a waste of time and money.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Comments on 'closure' especially appreciated!
  

*by W***G on Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2016*

I saw this book in the stores while on a visit to London last year. Took me all this time to order it (last week) on my Kindle. Happily was anything bit disappointed. What I specially liked is the memoir approach and how the author weaves together stories of his patients with his own story. That he is willing to show his own vulnerabilities and that he also needs to figure some things out makes him human and deeply authentic. For example, when he takes his dad on a journey into the past. Lots of food for thought on the unpredictability and complexities of life. One thing I specially appreciated is his chapter on grieving and "closure." I think, every time I see the word bandied about, how preposterous it is. He's the first person I've seen actually write about this and make the point that life doesn't work like that. Very worthwhile and thoughtful little book that was a pleasure to read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A beautiful book. Almost parable-esque the way it stays with ...
  

*by J***N on Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017*

A beautiful book.  Almost parable-esque the way it stays with you.  Author weaves a story made up of stories about someone else, somewhat real, somewhat altered, which makes it all very absorbable.  It’s not that the individual stories/instances have stuck with me, becoming useful, but that the overall compilation provides an understanding of the rhythms of the mind, how it works, what it looks like when something, unseen, is there and affecting us/needs to be, as psychoanalysis calls it, “looked at.”  The over arching story is the bow that wraps it all with great creativity.

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*Product available on Desertcart Australia*
*Store origin: AU*
*Last updated: 2026-03-05*