Love’s Labour

by Stephen Grosz

Hardcover

About the author

Stephen Grosz is a practicing psychoanalyst—he has worked with patients for more than twenty-five years. Born in America, educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Oxford University, he lives in London. A Sunday Times bestseller, The Examined Life is his first book.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this one but it also fell a bit short of expectations, so be aware of what you’re getting yourself into. The stories knitted together are beautiful explorations of love, loss, heartbreak, and growth. The writing is eloquent and beautiful and easy to consume. However, the main underlying common thread is that the author is a psychoanalyst for all of these patients- a type of therapy which is supremely personal and relies on deep conversations and discussion with a professional therapist. This book both tries to present life lessons and support growth in the reader, but relies on a therapy that can only be done connecting with another person. For me this rendered the stories less impactful, with an underlying message that this was great growth for the patients written about but couldn’t necessarily be applicable to me. A good read and a sweet book but for me the entire psychoanalysis foundation undermines its ability to act as inspiration for persona growth.

[Emily Audet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a short collection Stephen Grosz’s professional interactions, that he uses to explore concepts relating to successful love, relationships and psychoanalysis.

The book was easy to read, digestible and thought provoking. However i often found myself wishing for more explanation to understand how he reached certain conclusions - occasionally some of his interpretations of a situation seemed quite subjective and so it felt as though more was needed for me to also be able to reach a similar conclusion. I was also left wanting more chapters and cases to explore such an interesting topic.

[Yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing book for me because I don’t feel it talked about love or love labour; the cases described were all very traumatic so it was difficult to relate and yet I didn’t feel I engaged or learned or connected or was touched by this book. It’s a pity. I highly recommend Maybe You Should Talk to Someone for anyone interested in therapy — a beautifully uplifting book.