--- product_id: 1527519 title: "This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life" price: "B/.47" currency: PAB in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1527519-this-is-water-some-thoughts-delivered-on-a-significant-occasion store_origin: PA region: Panama --- # 4.6/5 rating from 2,600+ readers 137 pages of profound insight Only public speech by D.F. Wallace This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life **Price:** B/.47 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🧠 Dive deep into life’s water—think smarter, live kinder. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life - **How much does it cost?** B/.47 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.pa](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1527519-this-is-water-some-thoughts-delivered-on-a-significant-occasion) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Compact Yet Profound:** 137 pages of sharp, practical philosophy that fits perfectly into your busy life. - • **Endorsed by Thought Leaders:** Featured in The Wall Street Journal and London Times, this speech is a must-read for the modern thinker. - • **A Rare Intellectual Treasure:** Experience the sole public address by David Foster Wallace, a literary genius whose words continue to inspire. - • **Cultivates Compassionate Living:** Unlock the secret to mindful adulthood and empathy in a world of distractions. - • **Timeless Wisdom for Millennials:** Perfect for professionals seeking deeper meaning beyond success—read, reflect, and evolve. ## Overview This Is Water is the only public speech ever given by acclaimed author David Foster Wallace, published as a 137-page hardcover in 2009. Celebrated for its blend of humor, intellect, and practical philosophy, the book challenges readers to live consciously and compassionately. With a 4.6-star rating from over 2,600 reviews and recognition in major publications, it remains a transformative read for anyone seeking meaning beyond the daily grind. ## Description A thought-provoking essay from David Foster Wallace, adapted from his 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College, about the importance of choosing how we think, learning to see beyond ourselves, and finding meaning in the ordinary moments of everyday life. 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. He reminds us that we have the power to choose patience, understanding, and compassion, even in the most mundane moments of life. Review: This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a... - I lovely short boo..each page reads almost like a Japanese koan, which was why, I think, it is written this way. One sentence to a page.. The texture of the boo also makes it a nice formal read. One can stop and reflect upon each Wise sentence as one carefully absorbs the rich meaning behind what is said and how the author chooses to say it. The book presentation is part of what the author intended to enhance meaning and it works! The audio book does not let in these pauses and the meaning and power of the words suffer from it. This book is NOT for listening, but is a short enough thing to have, to touch and to think upon as one goes through it... It clearly explains deep concepts about how adults should approach complex issues which require more than knee-jerk thoughts in response to what is written. The texture of this little book, it pages, its small size, all belie the raw power of the thoughts expressed so gently and with compassion for the reader and the author, both. DEEP nut simple. Lie zen for the American mind. Review: These Are Words To Live By - I honestly do not even know where to begin in describing this book. Fosters concise insights into the human condition are a revelation. I've purchased this book several times as a gift for friends, family, and co-workers because of my belief in the usefulness of this book. That's a funny way to describe a book isn't it? Useful. Certainly books can expand the mind and offer new ways of thinking about things, but often the enlightenment they offer is not practical. Plato's Republic is bound to give you plenty to think about and illuminate your understanding the human condition, but how can you truly put those lessons to use in the modern era? This is Water is a guide to life. Foster offers scenarios we are all familiar with and our reactions to them. He then proposes an alternate approach to these mundane activities that can relieve the stress and tension they so often create. My two takeaways from this book would be mindfulness and humility. Mindfulness in understanding that you are not alone in how you feel and that unknown circumstances you could sympathize with may be at factor in your interaction with others. Humility in that you do not know everything and that you are not the center of the universe. The ideas in This is Water are bound to be so obvious that you might dismiss it altogether, but that's the point. Foster explains how often it's the things right in front of us that we take for granted and the solution is putting that understanding in the forefront of our thoughts more often. William S. Burroughs famously said "The job of the artist is to show you what you already know." And in my opinion Foster satisfies that function. ## Features - Author: Wallace, David Foster. - Publisher: Little, Brown and Company - Pages: 137 - Publication Date: 2009 - Edition: 1 - Binding: Hardcover - MSRP: 15 - ISBN13: 9780316068222 - ISBN: 0316068225 - Other ISBN: 9780316071000 - Other ISBN Binding: saleableprint - Language: en ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #25,910 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #42 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy #114 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality #604 in Motivational Self-Help (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,668 Reviews | ## Images ![This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/618XErtN1jL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a... *by T***. on October 31, 2017* I lovely short boo..each page reads almost like a Japanese koan, which was why, I think, it is written this way. One sentence to a page.. The texture of the boo also makes it a nice formal read. One can stop and reflect upon each Wise sentence as one carefully absorbs the rich meaning behind what is said and how the author chooses to say it. The book presentation is part of what the author intended to enhance meaning and it works! The audio book does not let in these pauses and the meaning and power of the words suffer from it. This book is NOT for listening, but is a short enough thing to have, to touch and to think upon as one goes through it... It clearly explains deep concepts about how adults should approach complex issues which require more than knee-jerk thoughts in response to what is written. The texture of this little book, it pages, its small size, all belie the raw power of the thoughts expressed so gently and with compassion for the reader and the author, both. DEEP nut simple. Lie zen for the American mind. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ These Are Words To Live By *by A***A on August 14, 2019* I honestly do not even know where to begin in describing this book. Fosters concise insights into the human condition are a revelation. I've purchased this book several times as a gift for friends, family, and co-workers because of my belief in the usefulness of this book. That's a funny way to describe a book isn't it? Useful. Certainly books can expand the mind and offer new ways of thinking about things, but often the enlightenment they offer is not practical. Plato's Republic is bound to give you plenty to think about and illuminate your understanding the human condition, but how can you truly put those lessons to use in the modern era? This is Water is a guide to life. Foster offers scenarios we are all familiar with and our reactions to them. He then proposes an alternate approach to these mundane activities that can relieve the stress and tension they so often create. My two takeaways from this book would be mindfulness and humility. Mindfulness in understanding that you are not alone in how you feel and that unknown circumstances you could sympathize with may be at factor in your interaction with others. Humility in that you do not know everything and that you are not the center of the universe. The ideas in This is Water are bound to be so obvious that you might dismiss it altogether, but that's the point. Foster explains how often it's the things right in front of us that we take for granted and the solution is putting that understanding in the forefront of our thoughts more often. William S. Burroughs famously said "The job of the artist is to show you what you already know." And in my opinion Foster satisfies that function. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A book of hope *by M***I on April 23, 2026* I miss him terribly. Our loss is profound. His parents and wife’s loss beyond imagination. A tiny book of hope for graduates from a man whose mind was quick and deep. Read it than get a little older and read again.❤️ ## Frequently Bought Together - This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life - Consider the Lobster and Other Essays - Infinite Jest --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1527519-this-is-water-some-thoughts-delivered-on-a-significant-occasion](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/1527519-this-is-water-some-thoughts-delivered-on-a-significant-occasion) --- *Product available on Desertcart Panama* *Store origin: PA* *Last updated: 2026-11-09*