On Giving Up

by Adam Phillips

On Giving Up by Adam Phillips (2024) is a collection of essays by the British psychoanalyst exploring what it really means to “give up.” Rather than treating it only as failure or weakness, Phillips suggests that giving up can also be a form of honesty, freedom, or renewal. Drawing on Freud, literature, and everyday experience, he examines the tensions between persistence and surrender, success and resignation, and the lives we imagine versus the ones we live. It’s not a self-help book, but a reflective, poetic meditation that invites readers to rethink how letting go shapes who we are.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?