This Is Water

Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life

By: David Foster Wallace

Narrated by: Amy Wallace

In this rare peak into the personal life of the author of numerous bestselling novels, gain an understanding of David Foster Wallace and how he became the man that he was.
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in This is Water. 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 piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.

Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.©2009 David Foster Wallace Literary Trust; (P)2009 David Foster Wallace Literary Trust

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Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living....

Too short for what you pay for!

Make no mistake, the speech itself was profound, heart spoken and brilliant. Basically the message is, mindful self-awareness leads to love, compassion and eventually a happy life. Very similar to the core values of Buddhism but described in a funny, light hearted and down to earth manner. The only problem here is that for only 24 Mins this speech is NOT WORTH $7! In fact you can get the whole transcript of this speech online FREE by simply doing a google search (I only found about it after I purchased the audiobook). Perhaps 2$ would have been a much more reasonable price.

The emotional attachment to his experience!

He thought of the life to the broadest capacity. His commencement speech was emotionally charged my curiosity; my experience struck a chord, treasure each occasion.

Would have preferred a recording of his speech

Basically Wallace is restating Plato’s dictum of the importance of self-knowledge as the key to making life worth living. Both Plato and Wallace are offering good advice to a group of arrogant self-congratulating graduates convinced of their own intellectual mastery. Four Stars for the reminder. ****

Default thinking

This little snippet from Mr Wallace is well worth a listen. It will give you something to think about.