“Each Individual is a Surprise” is a brief account of a dialogue between Marianne Horney Eckardt and myself about the state of psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic process, the danger of idolatry, the damaging impact of psychoanalytic schools when they create a standardized and pathologizing approach to people, the value of curiosity and humility and retaining one's clinical creativity. The role of Rank, Horney, Sullivan, and Fromm in Dr. Eckardt's long life and rich work is touched upon.