Book description
How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured…
Why read it?
2 authors picked This Is Water as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I love this book because it is short yet full of wisdom about life.
It is really a graduation speech turned into a book, and I’m glad it was. The author tells simple stories in meaningful ways, which had me instantly reflecting on my own life, which is why I keep returning to this book every year. For example, Foster Wallace asks us to question how we construct meaning, in order for us to be more conscious of this process inside us all. I think that is an important part of growing up and taming the ego – being able…
From Peter's list on ego and self development without the psychobabble.
Reading This is Water is a heartbreaking but beautiful experience, because the author, a philosophical and literary giant, took his own life. Wallace gave us so much in his too-short life. And, he had so much more to give. Nevertheless, this tender little book will fill you with compassion for yourself and for humanity in general. It is not a manual for living, but for seeing the world around you more clearly so that you can let more beauty and goodwill into your mind and heart while spreading the same to others. This is a little treasure.
From Sharon's list on making the most meaningful life.
If you love This Is Water...
Performance Anxiety
Lerner's memoir of approaching adulthood in the mid-sixties is deliciously readable, but deceptively breezy. His family is affluent, his school engaging, his friends smart and fun. He has his first car, and drives with abandon. The American moment promises unlimited possibility. But political and cultural upheavals are emerging, and irresistible.…
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