We reexamine in detail the various processes undergone by positrons in the interstellar medium (ISM) from their birth to their annihilation using the most recent results of positron interaction cross sections with atomic and molecular hydrogen, as well as helium. The positrons’ lives are divided into two phases: the “in-flight” phase (between ≈ 1 MeV and tens of eV) and the thermal phase. The f...