The examined life : how we lose and find ourselves / by Stephen Grosz.

Machine generated contents note: Beginnings -- How we can be possessed by a story that cannot be told -- On laughter -- How praise can cause a loss of confidence -- The gift of pain -- A safe house -- Telling Lies -- On secrets -- On not being in a couple -- A passion for ignorance -- On intimacy -- The bigger the front -- Loving -- At home -- How paranoia can relieve suffering and prevent a catastrophe -- On the recovery of lost feelings -- Why parents envy their children -- On wanting the impossible -- On hate -- How lovesickness keeps us from love -- Changing -- How a fear of loss can cause us to lose everything -- How negativity prevents our surrender to love -- On losing a wallet -- A change in the family -- Why we lurch from crisis to crisis -- On being boring -- On mourning the future -- How anger can keep us from sadness -- On being a patient -- Going back -- On bearing death -- Leaving -- Through silence -- On closure -- On waking from a dream.

In his work as a practising psychoanalyst, Stephen Grosz has spent the last twenty-five years uncovering the hidden feelings behind our most baffling behaviour. The Examined Life distils over 50,000 hours of conversation into pure psychological insight, without the jargon.