Tales of therapy are also tales of therapists, and Irvin D. Yalom--author of much bestselling psychiatric fiction and nonfiction--is a seasoned storyteller. This new collection of "tales from the couch," part memoir and part fiction, is the work of a therapist unafraid to become deeply engaged with his patients; people, not pathology, are the stuff of Yalom's psychotherapy. Ego, doubt, and fantasy are rarely confined to the couch, and the doctor learns as much from his patients as they from him. Here Yalom introduces us to Paula, whose losing fight against cancer teaches us that fear is only one of the many colors that brighten our dying; to Irene, a skilled surgeon whose dreams provide tantalizing clues for the psychological gumshoe intent on discovering the irrational terror behind her impressive intellect; to Magnolia, the earth mother whose inexplicable paralysis and imaginary infestations seemed her body's way of punishing her for aspirations aimed too high; and to Momma herself, half protector, half mythological monster, guardian at the gates of the psychotherapist's own unconscious. And, opening up the case files of the fictional Ernest Lash, Yalom reminds us that psychiatrists, too, are human. Like Oliver Sacks, Yalom spins the labyrinth threads of consciousness into the rich tapestry of something much grander. Therapy is not for the weak of heart, doctor or patient; in these pages, the journey toward healing and self-awareness reveals itself to be not about passivity, but courage. --Patrizia DiLucchio
From Library Journal
Psychiatrist and gifted storyteller Yalom (Love's Executioner) returns with six engaging tales of psychotherapy. In this collection, which includes two fictional narratives, Yalom explores his own dreams and fantasies, relationships with colleagues, and work as a hospital therapy group leader and director of research projects. Whether dealing with issues raised by his memory of the quintessential Jewish mother or supporting a widow working through her grief, Yalom reveals his thoughts, feelings, and reactions with sensitive honesty. Along the way, he portrays the therapeutic process as a journey of discovery for both patient and psychiatrist. Highly recommended for all collections.ALucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Yalom, psychotherapist and author of When Nietzsche Wept (1992) and Lying on the Couch (1996), uses his experiences with patients and his own life challenges to explore the process of psychotherapy and the search for meaning in life. He begins this collection of six stories with his dreams about his mother several years after her death. He recalls a difficult woman and wonders at her continued hold on him until he is able to reconcile their relationship in his dreams. Paula is a patient with a voracious cancer eating at her organs but not sapping her sense of life. Their roles are blurred as the doctor is captivated by Paula's self-assurance and spirituality even in the face of her death, an admiration that allows her to "educate" him. Another story recounts a distrustful, almost hostile, relationship between a psychotherapist and a female patient. She begins to open up when she accidentally gets hold of the doctor's notes and defends herself against his off-the-cuff remarks. Throughout, Yalom absorbingly recounts the resilience some patients bring to the task of healing themselves and is brutally frank about the limitations of modern medicine. Vanessa Bush
From Kirkus Reviews
Six long psychotherapy narrativesfour based on actual cases, two fictionalthat comprise a worthy sequel to the author's bestselling Love's Executioner: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy (1989). Yalom, author of many other books on psychotherapy, focuses here on how life can be enriched by emotionally integrating close encounters with loved ones' deaths and with one's own mortality. What particularly makes this book worth many times its price is a stunning piece entitled ``Seven Advanced Lessons in the Therapy of Grief.'' Here Yalom captures seven years of work with the emotionally frozen if often acerbic Irene, who during adolescence lost a beloved brother in a car accident and is about to lose her husband to brain cancer. He vividly describes such therapeutic concepts as ``rage grief,'' the way in which a bereaved person often feels an acutely heightened sense of his or her mortality, and how flashes of intense anger between patient and therapist can paradoxically strengthen the bond between them. In all these pieces, Yalom also illustrates his approach of actively exploring the ``here and now,'' or in-session emotional dynamics, even when this involves either side expressing particularly erotic, hostile, or other charged feelings. With the single exception of one passage, where Yalom reports at too great length on a therapists' seminar on countertransference (strong feelings the clinician has for the patient), he again displays the great narrative drive and wit evident in Love's Executioner. At least as much as that book, Momma and the Meaning of Life contains some truly profound observations on death, the sometimes desperate attempts to modify one's personality so as to live more fully, and other human struggles. These six engrossing narratives are very valuable gleanings from a master therapist's professional and personal experience. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"[Yalom] writes with considerable candour and an admirable lack of pomposity...[and writes about therapy]...with enviable opennness and style." -- Times Literary Supplement --Times Literary Supplement
About the Author
Irvin D. Yalom, M.D., is professor emeritus of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was the recipient of the 1974 Edward Strecker Award and the 1979 Foundation's Fund Prize in Psychiatry. He is the author of When Nietzche Wept (winner of the 1993 Commonwealth Club gold medal for fiction), Love's Executioner , Every Day Gets a Little Closer (with Ginny Elkin), and the classic textbooks Inpatient Group Psychotherapy and Existential Psychotherapy .
