'Beginning To Live' A celebration with its author - Emmy van Deurzen

Emmy will talk about the inspiration behind her new book and what it offers readers.

On 14th May 2026 "Beginning To Live; The Art of Existential Freedom" will be published by Allen Lane.
Emmy will introduce us to her new book and share her reasons for writing it. You can expect as always an inspiring, warm and deeply human talk from Emmy and there will be an opportunity to ask questions too.

About Beginning To Live

A user's guide to the everyday challenges of living, which looks to philosophy to reframe the way we understand ourselves and our relationships

How can we find our own direction and purpose? When life feels too much, is it possible to free ourselves from the concerns that weigh us down? Whether you’re in therapy or prefer to find your own way through life’s struggles, pioneering therapist Emmy van Deurzen offers a lifeline for rebuilding trust in the world.

Beginning to Live is a practical invitation to step back and discover what really matters by considering each of the four key aspects of our experience in turn: physical, social, personal and spiritual.

Harnessing over fifty years' experience, this book is filled with wisdom and moving stories that show how to deal with dilemmas and difficulties of every kind, so that even when survival takes all you have, you can rekindle confidence in your own abilities and revitalize your capacity to relate to others. It is not about a quality of personality or character, which you either have or don’t have, van Deurzen shows. It is about a way of being, which is available to each of us – enabling us all to find a more engaged way of living that is purposeful, deliberate and buoyant.

Your future is a work of art in progress. And it starts here.

Emmy van Deurzen is an existential therapist, counselling psychologist, and philosopher, who lives in the UK and who has written numerous books on life issues. Her work has been translated into over 30 languages. She founded the Society for Existential Analysis and its journal in 1988, the Regent’s School of Psychotherapy in 1990, and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in 1996. She continues to be a director of the latter and of the Existential Academy and Dilemma Consultancy, both of which she co-founded with Digby Tantam. She is a visiting professor with Middlesex University and President of the worldwide Existential Movement. Emmy is an international speaker who has given presentations and workshops on five continents.

Emmy's other books include the bestseller Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice (Sage, 3d edition 2012), Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (Sage, 2009), Everyday Mysteries (Routledge, 2nd ed, 2010), Paradox and Passion (Wiley, 2nd ed 2015) and Rising from Existential Crisis (PCCS books, 2021). Her book The Art of Freedom: Guide to a Wiser Life will be published by Penguin. She is also co-authoring a book for Routledge on Structural Existential Analysis, with Dr. Claire Arnold-Baker.

This is a donation only event to maximise accessibility.

Your donation will support the work of AD4E and help us to offer more free and cheap tickets at upcoming workshops.

Suggested donations

On benifits -£3

low waged -£5

Medium waged - £15

High waged - £30

Organisation funded - £40

This talk will be recorded and sent out to those signed up.