Love’s Labour

‘An exceptional writer and psychoanalyst … the poet laureate of human emotion’ * Elizabeth Day, author of How to Fail *
'A profound meditation on love and healing. Powerful and important. Essential reading' * Tara Westover, author of Educated *
‘Love really is a labour: that's something they don't tell you in the fairy stories or the reality shows.But Stephen Grosz knows a lot about the pain and joy of human relationships and in this book he generously shares his wisdom with the rest of us’ * Zadie Smith, author of The Fraud *
'Full of moments of revelation that stay with you forever ... It would not be humanly possible for me to recommend his work more highly' * India Knight, author of Home *
‘Reading Stephen Grosz is a deep sort of pleasure, and this book's movingly told true stories left me feeling wiser and more open to life’ * Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks *
‘This is a special book, full of little epiphanies. Grosz combines illuminating stories from therapy with such beautiful writing that you forget these people are his patients and not fictional characters. He reminds us how complex love is, how much it requires of us, and how many times we can misunderstand each other – and ourselves – in the process. It's a love story about the relationship between lovers, between a therapist and patient, and between us all, if we are brave enough to attempt it’ * Natasha Lunn, author of Conversations on Love *
‘Grosz’s transfixing stories will increase your openness to and aptitude for the greatest of all emotions: you will be better at love after you read this book’ * Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon *
'Stephen Grosz is a beautiful writer, a clear, compelling thinker, an observant, wise, and deeply empathetic human being' * Nick Hornby, author of Funny Girl *
'Full of thought prompts and ideas that resonate long after you finish the book ... It’s a strange, thoughtful, deeply compelling book' * Pandora Sykes *
'This is a beautiful book' * Nigella Lawson *
'Love’s Labour is a hopeful book and all the more convincingly so because it promises relatively small shifts rather than miraculous recoveries' * The Times *
'A compressed, brilliant distillation of 40 years of clinical experience and deep thought, written to last. Grosz conveys what he knows, in all its richness, in as pithy and digestible form as possible' * Financial Times *
'Chilling, moving, unforgettably… what a privilege it is for the reader to catch a glimpse of this process * Guardian *
'Clearly written and deeply moving. Above all, it brings the experience of psychoanalysis to life ... A humane and compelling book full of astonishing insights into his patients' lives' * Jewish Chronicle *
'Another work from the master of writing about therapy. Whisper this sacrilege: he’s a significantly better writer than Irvin Yalom. A book to savour, re-read and return to for new insights' -- Naomi Alderman * The Spectator *Books of the Year 2025* *
Grosz is an exceptionally deft writer and his insight are as revelatory as ever… a powerful antidote to the idea that therapy can be performed by AI * Prospect *
'Who isn’t fascinated by the inner lives of others? In Love’s Labour, psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz takes you inside the room as his (heavily disguised) patients dissect their relationships, behaviour and deepest longings. Beautifully executed, each vignette offers an insight into the human condition. I defy you to read it and not feel seen' -- Alice FIshburn * Financial Times, Books of the Year *
'Stephen Grosz is a supreme exponent of this kind of analytic writing ... The final story, 'Hauntings,' is the most moving and memorable case study I have read' * Inside Story (Australia) *
[A] wonderfully earnest sequel [to The Examined Life] * The Times, *Books of the Year* *
Clearly written and deeply moving… a humane and compelling book * Jewish Chronicle, *Books of the Year* *