Book Description

Helen M. Luke devoted her life to the exploration of the self -- both her own and that of countless others who came to her for counseling. She was endowed with a deep grasp of archetypal forces and the ability to evoke them with luminous prose.

Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On consists of a memoir she wrote at the age of seventy but never published and excerpts culled from the fifty-four volumes of journals written in her final years. She weaves together dreams and symbolic images from her inner life with personal and world events, bringing a clear, unsentimental honesty and vibrant insight to all that she recounts. Reflecting on her past as a way of illuminating the present, Luke inspires us to be aware, attend to our personal truths, and "know and accept and live the next thing with devotion." This is Helen Luke's final and magnum opus -- her gift to the world. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Story of a Life Well Lived
Recently in an interview with Charlie Rose Meryl Streep spoke of women needing a dream that portrayed them as powerful, particularly as they age. Helen Luke's autobiography is just such a dream. It is a carefully woven tapestry of her dreams, her thoughts, her readings (the wide range of her reading & interests included Lord Of the Rings by Tolkien, Dante, T.S. Eliot, C.K. Williams,& Larry Dossey's Shamanic books), and the encounters that she had in her life (which included Robert Johnson, Carl Jung, Dr. Meiers, Toni Sussman,Dr. Kunkel). The patterns of this tapestry speak to us of a life that followed the Way of individuation, as she refers to it in the autobiography. What most impressed me was the way in which she lived the path, risks and all, that Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell taught, despite her Christian Scientist upbringing. This straightforward autobiography & her journals model The Way. Her courage to leave her mother behind while she was dying in order to follow her "dreams" was inspirational. Her discussion in her diary entry about C.K.Williams work Descent Into Hell (which she refers to frequently, reminding me of how good a book it was) and it's demonstration that "a 'daughter's gift to an injured mother' through language, even many years after a mother's death, may be valid" fed many beliefs that I have had about how healing can occur and ones role in it. The book read like a road map to a fulfilled life, well marked by the signposts of the numinousities, synchronicities, and struggles encountered by a thoughtful individual. It is hard to put down, I read through it almost at once, and will be studying and thinking about the lessons it holds for a long time. I am quite confident that most men and women will not regret studying this book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent primer on Winnicott
Renowned, revered, kind-hearted D.W. Winnicott (1896-1971) was a pediatrician and then a child analyst whose contributions to theories of child development and psychology (mothering, love, language, attachment, dependency, anxiety and many other topics) were enormous. Phillips' book illuminates Winnicott's body of work and includes a chronology. The tone is respectful and insightful and Phillips' knack for skillful explanation and analysis is here. But he knows Winnicott's work -- and life -- by heart, and has written extensively on him elsewhere, and occasionally in this work he meshes the two -- biography and work -- so seamlessly that I wished for more. As an intro to Winnicott's ideas, this is first-rate. ... Read more

Book Description

Essential Reading for Every Dr. Phil Fan…and Anyone Hoping to Learn the Secrets of His Incredible Success

The story of Dr. Phil’s rise to the top is not one of a well-thought- out and carefully executed plan, nor is it entirely a tale about the rewards of hard work–although McGraw is clearly driven by his own success. Rather, it is the story of a brilliant opportunist with powerful survival instincts and a gift for quickly analyzing and sizing up any situation.

You’ve no doubt heard the legend about the man who was blessed by Oprah’s golden touch. But the real story of the making of Dr. Phil encompasses both embarrassing failures and promising opportunities that have been brilliantly capitalized on by someone with the brains–and nerves–to do what it takes to succeed.
–From the Preface ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Five Stars
This is a very entertaining read on one of today's leading celebrities. It tells Dr. Phil's true life story, from his start as a poor boy in Oklahoma, to his first business ventures, on through his college years studying psychology. It then talks about how he transitioned from private practice with his father to the speaking circuit and trial consulting, before being touched by the magic of Oprah and shooting into super-stardom. I found the insights from Dr. Phil, his friends, and family to be most interesting. I had no idea he had accomplished so much and managed to rise from failure so many times. I really think everyone even remotely interested in Dr. Phil will enjoy reading this interesting book.

The real inside scoop we never read about in the media!
Two reporters set out to write a fair, honest book on the phenomenon that is Dr. Phil. But how were they to react when the TV shrink's people decided she was just out for dirt? This book tells all, and what a story. So often we don't hear the real story about celebrities, not the dirt, but the real story of how mean and cruel and threatening they can be when the media tries to learn the real facts about their lives.

After an article about Dr. Phil show appeared in the Kansas City Star, a reader tipped one of the reporters off to Phil's hometown connection. She found an old yearbook containing a photo of McGraw dancing at his high school prom. She tracked and telephoned the girl in the picture.

"I knew you'd find me some day," the woman who answered the phone had said. Lisa had a scoop: A first wife whom McGraw never mentioned, even in his most confessional moments in his books or with Larry King.

This book is a very good look at how the media is manipulated by rich celebrities like Dr. Phil. But this books tells the truth. Finally. I wonder why the media did not review it when it came out? Blacklisted by the lawyers for Dr Phil? Weird. This is an important American book.

What were you thinking????
Let me be among the first to say I hated your new book! It started out objective enough with facts of Dr. Phil's upbringing but soon kicked into an all-pervasive venomous tale of your slant on every wrongdoing Dr. Phil has ever done in his life. All I can think of is that he must touch on some very sensitive nerves with both of you for you to portray him in such an outrageously negative light. As you can tell, I'm a huge Dr. Phil fan who feels his show does a tremendous service to people out there who can benefit from his counsel on a daily basis. Whine, whine, whine...I'll never read another one of your "biographies" again.

Human side of a TV icon
I really enjoyed this well-written, fascinating book that peels off the studio makeup and shows the real man behind the quick psych soundbites of TV. As an entrepreneur, I was very intrigued to learn about the man's stumbles as well as his successes. The anecdotes in the book make it very readable and fun but I was looking for more and found it. I can't understand the reviews here that think the book has a negative agenda. Maybe the man's diehard fans expect that so see it where it doesn't exist. Don't be put off. If you want to learn about Dr. Phil, the real man and business wunderkind, this is your book.

Fascinating Read
This is a compelling read about how Dr. Phil went from literally nowhere to becoming a world famous shrink with his own TV show. While it does offer some of his self-help advice, it's really his life story, from boyhood to present. The authors offer a very objective look at his eventful life. They also provide a glimpse into how he talked his way into the fame and fortune he enjoys today. I'm really convinced that some of the other reviewers haven't even read the book and are just guessing it's a negative look at Dr. Phil. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it's an overall positive picture of a man who is indeed a very shrewd businessperson. The writing is clear, concise, and quite entertaining. I believe it will be of interest to readers of all types, whether you're a Dr. Phil fan or not. ... Read more

Book Description

Over the course of twenty-five years, Dr. Helen Morrison has profiled more than eighty serial killers around the world. What she learned about them will shatter every assumption you've ever had about the most notorious criminals known to man. Judging by appearances, Dr. Helen Morrison has an ordinary life in the suburbs of a major city. She has a physician husband, two children, and a thriving psychiatric clinic. But her life is much more than that. She is one of the country's leading experts on serial killers, and has spent as many as four hundred hours alone in a room with depraved murderers, digging deep into killers' psyches in ways no profiler before ever has.

In My Life Among the Serial Killers, Dr. Morrison relates how she profiled the Mad Biter, Richard Otto Macek, who chewed on his victims' body parts, stalked Dr. Morrison, then believed she was his wife. She did the last interview with Ed Gein, who was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. John Wayne Gacy, the clown-obsessed killer of young men, sent her crazed Christmas cards and gave her his paintings as presents. Then there was Atlanta child killer Wayne Williams; rapist turned murderer Bobby Joe Long; England's Fred and Rosemary West, who killed girls and women in their "House of Horrors"; and Brazil's deadliest killer of children, Marcelo Costa de Andrade.

Dr. Morrison has received hundreds of letters from killers, read their diaries and journals, evaluated crime scenes, testified at their trials, and studied photos of the gruesome carnage. She has interviewed the families of the victims -- and the spouses and parents of the killers -- to gain a deeper understanding of the killer's environment and the public persona he adopts. She has also studied serial killers throughout history and shows how this is not a recent phenomenon with psychological autopsies of the fifteenth-century French war hero Gilles de Rais, the sixteenth-century Hungarian Countess Bathory, H. H. Holmes of the late ninteenth century, and Albert Fish of the Roaring Twenties.

Through it all, Dr. Morrison has been on a mission to discover the reasons why serial killers are compelled to murder, how they choose their victims, and what we can do to prevent their crimes in the future. Her provocative conclusions will stun you.

Reviews (6)

Just okay
This book is good, don't get me wrong. However, the reader has to get through the author continuous complaining about her not being treated fairly in the workplace. She should have saved that for another book instead of trying to get her digs in here and there. She basically comes across with a poor me attitude. Her situation is once in a lifetime. She should have tried to profile these killers better. Instead of being insightful, it is just a quick read. She certainly can't top John Douglas.

Disappointing
This book will disappoint many true crime buffs. Most of the
serial killers she writes about are well-known, and she devotes a
lot of space to synopses of their crime sprees. This might be
useful for true crime newbies trying to get up to speed, but I
wanted to hear more about her interviews with these people.
Among them are Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, Peter Sutcliffe (the
"Yorkshire Ripper"), Bobby Joe Long, Wayne Williams, Fred and
Rosemary West, and Gary Ridgway (the "Green River Killer").
Even Gilles de Rais and Vlad Tepes are covered, and I know she
never interviewed them!
She doesn't seem to derive any insight into these killers from her
interviews. For example, she puzzles over why Robert Berdella
would drug and restrain someone who was supposedly his buddy,
make him a sex slave, and perform hideous experiments on him
(like rubbing Drano in his eyes), all the while logging careful
notes of his victim's reactions. Berdella doesn't have an answer
for her. I don't know either. That's why I was reading the book, to
see what insights she gained through her years of experience
with these people.
But some of her interactions with them are interesting. For
example, she enters Gacy's jail cell and he directs her to a seat
with no access to the door. That action in itself demonstrates
how Gacy dealt with people. He was trying to psychologically
manipulate her, put her at a disadvantage, so she would feel
vulnerable and uncomfortable. She remarks on how clean and
tidy his cell is, and he describes himself as a neat freak,
super-organized, and says he scrubbed the floor and walls
himself. Yet he stored decomposing corpses in the crawl space
of his house. That certainly tells you something about how he
was able to compartmentalize his life -- public-minded citizen and
businessman by day, sadistic killer trolling for victims by night.
I would have liked to read more of these simple observations,
because they turn out to be enlightening.
Her conclusion is that serial killers are that way from birth
(actually, from conception), and not responsible for their actions.
I agree with her that they probably have a compulsion to kill (but
where does that compulsion come from?), and become addicted
to it, but anyone who is able to commit crimes for months and
years, and cover them up, knows what they are doing.
She takes what I feel is an unwarranted dig at police detectives
and FBI profilers, saying their methods are not scientific. Well,
they're not scientific in the sense of setting up a controlled
experiment, but they do follow the scientific method of deriving
conclusions from careful observations. If experience shows that
most killers operate within their "comfort zone," an area they are
familiar with, then you can conclude that the perpetrator of a
particular crime probably lives or works within a certain radius of
the crime scene, or knows the area for some other reason. The
comment just irked me because they're trying to get killers off
the streets, while she's helping get them off the hook (as an
expert witness for the defense).

Not for the faint of heart
For those interested in serial killers or in understanding the human condition in some of its darkest forms, this book offers a number of wonderful insights. Details from interviews with many of the most notorious killers of our time are both fascinating and truly repulsive. The main reason I gave this book a four instead of a two or three was because of the hard facts that were included from Morrison's interviews and the fact that she did not sensationalize the crimes or criminals, she merely offered the facts. However, it was difficult at times to get past Morrison's self-important attitude and her soap box discussions of the inadequacies she perceives in other psychiatrists and psychologists and many of the police forces she encountered. But Morrison does offer a plausible explanation for the formation of a serial killer, one that will most likely not be proven until advances in science allow definitive answers.

Interesting
Excellent book. Flows easily and keeps your attention. I highly recommend.

Prepare to enter the dark
I began this book while on a business trip and had to stop reading for a while because it left me so worried about my wife and family.
The thing about this book is that it is not "The Silence of the Lambs." This is not some speculative book about Jack the Ripper.
"My Life Among the Serial Killers" is not some pop novel that ties the killer up with a surprise ending that places the ranting kliller in a neat little padded cell. This is a book that shows you to what may well be out there by exposing you into the minds of those awful human sharks that did not make it back to sea.
Read this book and you will look into the minds of John Wayne Gacy, Richard Macek, Robert Bedella. But don't expect the dark comedy/hollywood brutality of a Stephen King character. As I said before, this book is dark. There were times I wished that I could close my thoughts to what I read by simply closing the cover of the book. It left me drained and scared because these creatures are real and there is nothing sympathetic in them when you strip away their masks as few have done and fewer can do.
Helen Morrison is one incredible person. Good Lord how could somebody even think of living a normal existence after doing the work that she has done--meeting these killers, and boring into their minds! ... Read more

Book Description

This abridged edition makes the Freud/Jung correspondence accessible to a general readership at a time of renewed critical and historical reevaluation of the documentary roots of modern psychoanalysis. This edition reproduces William McGuire's definitive introduction, but does not contain the critical apparatus of the original edition. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fight of Titans for primacy in the field of Psychanalisys.
This is a sad book to read. In fact, one would not expect that such a type of bad development would occur between the two most important figures of psychoanalisys. It is as if Marx and Engels had broken their friendship for life and began to fight for fame and glory in front of everybody. The spoil was huge: nothing more than the primacy for fame and glory in the first steps of psychanalisys.

Sure, the letters span a pretty much limited space of time of no more than 8 years (1906-1914) but the reader has to keep in mind that what was at stake was the establishing of the foundations of psychoanalisys all over Europe and also in the whole World.
What began as a cordial friendship and evolved into an almost father (Freud) to son (Jung) relationship, deteriorated into the most depressive fighting of personal primacy on many subjects. In this regard, it seems that the feud was initiated by Freud who considered Jung a type of his personal assistant to market the developments of his findings
THe fact that this is a abridged edition does not mean nothing except that here the common reader will find the most important material exchanged by the two great men and will be saved from some meaningless material of more burocratical tone.
Also of value is the introduction that ilustrates all the effort made by the two family sides to publish the letters, in spite the view by Jung that the ideal time for them to be published would be 20 to 30 years after his death.

THis is a must reading for anyone interested in the history of psychanalisys. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The first time I met Monsieur DuQuette, at a booksellers' convention in Los Angeles, he read my fortune with tarot cards. I was about to move, he predicted. Irritated, I huffed "that was ridiculous," I'd just moved into my boyfriend's house. When I arrived home from the convention, my aforementioned boyfriend told me he'd had a change of heart and would I please move out as soon as possible! The next time I sat down with DuQuette, at the same conference (several years later in Chicago), he regaled me with witticisms and stories. I was struck by his sincerity, self-revelation, and personable nature. This is the first time a true magician has written an autobiography since The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, and it's the next best thing to being able to sit with the charming and adept DuQuette. It's intimate, straightforward, and neither self-deprecating or egotistical. It contains excruciatingly honest revelations by a contemporary individual attempting to understand the universe and how it works. Here's a man who comfortably accepts himself and urges the reader to do the same. If you are not interested in magick, think of this as a fascinating autobiography. If you are, it's required reading. --P. Randall Cohan ... Read more

Reviews (30)

EVERY PAGAN -- READ THIS BOOK!
I must leap to my feet and wave a copy of My Life with the Spirits: The Adventures of a Modern Magician about, yelling at the top of my lungs for every pagan to read this book! It may not be particularly well-known yet, but I reckon this book will have a big impact at some stage in the future.

The book's author, Lon Milo DuQuette, is a highly esteemed ceremonial magician and a Thelemite, but that shouldn't deter anyone not of those persuasions from enjoying this wonderfully candid and occasionally very funny autobiographical account of his lifelong spiritual odyssey.

Starting with the story of Lon as a choir boy in a small-town fundamentalist Christian church, the tale moves through an obsession with yoga and meditation, experiments with LSD, and encounters with a miraculous pranic healer who lives in a barn with hundreds of cats, until eventually Lon is introduced to the magickal system of the OTO.

The accounts of subsequent magickal operations are refreshingly honest, realistic, and sometimes hysterically funny. From the valuable lessons learned after accidentally rubbing cinnamon oil in one's eyes in the middle of a ritual to the evocation of a demon who seems to specialize in returning stolen VW Kombi vans, every anecdote DuQuette recounts will fascinate, entertain or inspire you.

This book practically reads itself - you won't be able to put it down. Go out and find it! My Life with the Spirits by Lon Milo DuQuette

Whether you're Magical or not, it's a true must-read!!
Frankly, whether your interested in the genre or not, I'd highly recommend this book. It's truly an enjoyable read from beginning to end. I ended up reading this book out loud to my wife while she was pregnant, because I just couldn't keep the little gems to myself. I'd laugh to myself, she'd say "what?" I'd read her a paragraph, she'd laugh... three minutes later, we'd repeat the scenario. After a few times around, we just said the heck with it... read it all out-loud! What a purely enjoyable experience for both of us.

DuQuette's humorous and down to earth writing style is a much needed breath of fresh air to this genre where many take themselves far too seriously. DuQuette understands how to write about life changing activities and heavy philosophies without putting on the much used pompous tone. I can't say it enough, I love this book, I love this author, I love his style. Through it all, you come to feel as if you actually know this man. His style imparts so much familiarity that you come to feel you've known him for years and wouldn't think twice about asking him to coffee if you bump into him on the street.

If I could offer one book to a friend to help them understand this world I live in, it would be this one, without a doubt. It's truly a FUN book, and you can't help but come away with something of value, no matter who you are.

Buy it, read it, laugh and learn! I'd give it six stars if I could.

An Enlightening read, full of Humor
After reading this book i have found that it is not only a great book about a great man, but an look into the life of the modern magician. I find great wisdom in the words of a man who can honestly say that he has been there.

A great read for anyone who is currently walking the path or thinking about starting a magical path in the future.

pretty good i must admit
first off, i've read all the hype surrounding this guy (lmd) and this particular book so much that i had to get a copy myself.
i must say that this guy is a humorous person and has a friendly, humble personality. i bet to meet him in person and if he told you that he practices the dark arts, it would throw you off.
anyway, the book was so good that i've read it all the way through once i had opened it's pages. i even had a few laughs. needless to say the reason why i give the rating 4 stars instead of 5 is because (to me) lon threw me off near the end of the book, going into his enochian workshop experiences. but he does explain in the beginning how he will leave bits and peices out of his life so i can only guess that these enochian experiences was a very important theme in his life. but to me, i don't find those chapters suitting (in a way) for an autobiography, it should of been in another book of his, then again it is one of his occult experiences that he would like to share and it's interesting.
but that's just me, don't let my 4 stars discourage you. it is a very good book and even though this is the first magickal autobiography that i actually now have, i'm sure it's one of the best ones out there.

good and funny
Unlike a lot of writngs by magicians who go on and on about things that are frankly ridiculous, DuQuette writes a good, down to earth book about the way magick actually happen. Funny as hell too. ... Read more

Book Description

Albert Einstein's brain floats in a Tupperware bowl in a gray duffel bag in the trunk of a Buick Skylark barreling across America. Driving the car is journalist Michael Paterniti. Sitting next to him is an eighty-four-year-old pathologist named Thomas Harvey, who performed the autopsy on Einstein in 1955 -- then simply removed the brain and took it home. And kept it for over forty years.

On a cold February day, the two men and the brain leave New Jersey and light out on I-70 for sunny California, where Einstein's perplexed granddaughter, Evelyn, awaits. And riding along as the imaginary fourth passenger is Einstein himself, an id-driven genius, the original galactic slacker with his head in the stars. Part travelogue, part memoir, part history, part biography, and part meditation, Driving Mr. Albert is one of the most unique road trips in modern literature. ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Just another book about a guy with a brain in his trunk
Michael Paterniti came upon a great idea, to write about his cross-country trip with Thomas Harvey, the man who autopsied Albert Einstein and then stole his brain, keeping it in his basement for fifty years. Much of this book is entertaining: meeting up with Harvey's various lady friends, visiting the bizarre William S. Burroughs months before his death, eating in truck stops, Paterniti rambling to strangers having Einstein's brain in the back of his Buick Skylark.

DRIVING MR. ALBERT is no ON THE ROAD, however. This book is a long-winded magazine article, stuffed with sidetrips and a light biography of Albert Einstein. Paterniti never truly has a meeting of minds with Harvey; he does not develop a friendship or any kind of trust. Paterniti is merely the driver, Harvey a spectacularly unusual character along for the ride.

Paterniti thanks a friend in his acknowledgments for pulling him back from precipices of metaphor, though it's obvious the friend didn't pull at him enough -- Paterniti still goes over the edge a few times, sprinkling the text with phrases such as "big as the cosmos" and "we drove down the highway like neurons racing through the brain."

Pacing is a problem as well. The backstory of Einstein's life is not well integrated into the book, taking us on day trips to nowhere. Paterniti has obviously researched this book well, but has merely inserted others' paraphrased words wholesale.

I love road trips, especially with cerebral passengers, but I was ready to bail on this one somewhere between Lawrence, Kansas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Relative Review 84
I personally enjoyed this story of 2 unlikely road trip companions who travel across America with Albert Einstein's brain in the trunk of their rented Buick. I think some of the people reviewing it here on Amazon take it and themselves a little too seriously.

It was quirky and fun and sweet all at the same time. Included is a light biography of Einstein and the bizarre events that took place after his death concerning his brain. Even a little Relativity is thrown in. This is not a serious book and shouldn't be approached as one. I don't think it is one of the great books of our time, but it did provide an interesting escape.

I started readng it, thinking it was fiction, only to discover it is for the most part a factual account. I found it to be the perfect read while I was cruising around the Caribbean on my honeymoon. Anyone who is interested in this subject matter and doesn't already know much about it should pretty much feel the same way. Enjoy!

You can tell he writes for Esquire
This book is just one long-winded Esquire article...a topic with a catchy enough premise to suck you in, words that are put together well enough that you don't put it down immediately after picking it up, but in the end, it goes absolutely nowhere. There's no attempt to get to the heart of ANYTHING...the "brain keeper" his acquaintances, or the author's relationship with his wife, Sara.

Not great
The book is just OK. A friend told me that inspired by the success of this project, the author got a job as a Federal Baggage Screener to write an expose of this profession (although he claims that he just wanted to be a Federal Baggage Screener), and has been doing the rounds of TV interviews (CNN, FOXNews(unfair and biased), Nickelodeon, etc) to boost sales. He's been attacked by some of the interviewers for not being straight about his intentions to write an expose (but he claims that he just wanted to be a Federal Baggage Screener.) Does anyone else know if this is correct?

In the words of Sybil Fawlty, "Pretentious, moi?"
As another reviewer has pointed out, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" this book ain't.

The writer's understanding of even basic physics seems very limited (this is evident from how confused his physics based metaphors are), let alone whether he understands anything at all about relativity. If you are tempted to read this book because you think that it will offer a readable introduction to relativity - don't because it won't. The reviewers who have said that the book offers an introduction to relativity must be as confused as the writer is. I have the suspicion that the number of stars given by the reviewer is inversely proportional to the amount of physics which the reviewer understands.

The main flaw of this book however is how contrived it is. In this respect it is deeply disappointing, as the further I got into the book, the deeper was my feeling of hurt at being conned by this writer. Persevering with reading the book is like persevering with cultivating a relationship with an absolute liar and is deeply upsetting in this regard. You feel like reaching out to grab them and implore them, "Just tell the truth." I know nothing about writing, and have not attended graduate school in creative writing as has the author, but surely the first thing that a writer must do is develop his own voice which is an honest voice, and not a phony voice. Most of the incidents relayed in the book appear to be manufactured merely for inclusion in a book about travelling across America with Einstein's brain in the trunk - to be quirky and to boost sales.

The most enjoyable and least phony passages are towards the beginning of the book concerning the author's time spent at graduate school where he met Sara and his trips across country as a teenager and a 23 year old. After this, the mask comes up in front of his face and we step into the realm of "contrived quirkiness," presumably in the interests of sales. Perhaps "zany" sells, and it is probably easier to sell books by fooling the customer than by actually writing something of some enduring value. The many good reviews on this web site seem to me to be a testament to this fact.

All of this is to say nothing about the despicable act which the physician Harvey committed in stealing the brain out of a corpse. To employ my own physics based metaphor, there is a certain wave-particle duality between the dishonesty exhibited by Harvey in his actions (whatever his intentions were) and the actions of getting a magazine contract, then a book contract, then going on the trip (in a car paid for by the publishers) and then pushing the manuscript on those unsuspecting readers out there across America, who are waiting to lap up "zany" (whatever the intentions of the writer were.)

I'm with the school kid who asked the physician Harvey, "What's the point?" Ultimately, an exercise in pretentious and dishonest babbling, and I will be glad to be finished with the book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great read
This is a greatly written book. For all Thor's sense of humor and eye for the paradox often shines through. We hear a lot about his obstacles getting his travel adventures accepted in scientific circles as real research and also get a side of Thor indicating that he is a very determined man. We hear about his romantic life and philosophy about he important things in life. A great book that will teach you not only about geography and archeology but will make you laugh and think deeper about life.

Diary of an adventurous man.
To use Thor's own words...
"There is nothing for modern man to return to. Our wonderful time in the wilderness had given us a taste of what man had abandoned and what mankind was still trying to get even further away from. Progress today can be defined as man's ability to complicate simplicity. Nothing in all the procedure that modern man , helped by all his modern middlemen, goes through before he earns money to buy a fish or a potato will ever be as simple as pulling it out of the water or soil. Without the farmer and the fisherman, modern society would collapse., with all its shops and pipes and wires. The farmers and the fishermen represent the nobility of modern society; they share their crumbs with the rest of us, who run about with papers and screwdrivers attempting to build a better world without a bluprint."

All this author's books are GREAT reads! If you are a city dweller you will especially appreciate his adventures as he asks the question- "Were we meant to live in jungles made of plants or concrete? ... Read more

Book Description

The Beginner Books -- "Their cartoon format and irreverent wit make difficult ideas accessible and entertaining." -- Newsday

Everything you need to know about neurosis, libido, ego, and id -- but somehow it slipped your mind.

Freud for Beginners is a perfect introduction to the life and thought of the man whose discovery of psychoanalysis revolutionized our attitudes towards mental illness, religion, sex, and culture. This documentary cartoon book plunges us into the world of late-nineteenth-century Vienna in which Freud grew up. We explore his early background in science, his work as a therapist, his encounter with cocaine, and his theories on the unconscious, dreams, the Oedipus Complex, and sexuality.

We meet his family, his friend and enemies, and his patients -- The Rat Man, Anna O., Little Hans -- and we get an insider's view as the psychoanalytic movement is launched. The zany art and probing text do an extraordinary job of simplifying Freud without trivializing him. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great introduction to Freud with amazing illustrated slides.
The 'xxx for beginners' are marvellous not just because they give you a valuable grounding in forbidding subjects, allowing you to approach primary texts with more confidence, but because they are so entertaining, even in subjects you have little interest in. Though this book is a much-needed introduction to and exposition of Freud's basic theories, making you feel clever as you join the dots you always knew were there but for the intimidating jargon, the real joy is in the irreverent presentation, especially the illustrations. These are full of in-jokes about Freud's life and times which are not always treated explicitely in the text, as well as being technically expert, imaginative and, sometimes, bracingly shocking. So while it is pleasing, in these anti-Freudian times, to be reminded of the man's incalculable importance and influence, the illustrations offer an in-built critique that puts everything in perspective. Great fun.

Sometimes a Book is just a Book
This book is just a book, but a better book than its successor of the same title by Richard Osborne. Mostly because it does not hang onto the relationship between Jung and Freud as long and focuses more on the theories of Freud. In fact, what I really enjoyed about this book is that gave a good round about summary of most of Freuds theories inside each book. Certainly acts a good stepping stone for those who need to know Freud in a hurry and wants the gist of his work. Richard Appignanesi displays good understanding of Freuds work and summarizes it well and concise. Reccomended for the prodigal psychologist.

"I MAKE the world! This is my GIFT!"
(See page 79 for explanation and a very funny illustration of the second stage of psychosexual development). This book, in addition to being very informative, is also incredibly funny. Very well written and drawn; though in the form of a comic book, it is nevertheless a splendid introduction to Freud's life and work. The author and illustrator are quite witty as well as knowledgeable, and in this book they have succeeded at what should be the goal of all beginners' book writers: piqued my interest in the subject and made me want to learn more. Would be a great supplementary text in a course on Freud or on psychology/psychoanalysis in general. Highly recommended!

Terrific Fun and Informative
The pictures were fun (especially pg. 79) and the text clear and informative. This book has explained some Freudian concepts better than some of my classes in college have! Fun and stimulating at the same time... what more could someone ask for? ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A truly insightful exploration of environment and place.
The author challenges the reader to understand how environment and place shape who we are.After reading this book you will never again take the places in your life for granted.The author's poignant essays will touchyour spirit and inspire you to explore the places which make you who youare. ... Read more

Book Description

A dazzling and powerful account of a life profoundly altered by Prozac-- "surely among the best on the long-term effects of the drug" (The New York Times)

In 1988, at age 26, Lauren Slater lived alone in a basement apartment in Cambridge, depressed, suicidal, unemployed. Ten years later, she is a psychologist running her own clinic, an award-winning writer, and happily married. The transformation in her life was brought about by Prozac. Prozac Diary is Lauren Slater's incisive account of a life restored to productivity, creativity, and love. When she wakes up one morning and finds that her demons no longer have a hold on her, Slater struggles with the strange state of being well after a lifetime of craziness. Yet this is no hymn to a miracle pharmaceutical. It is a frankly ambivalent quest for the truth of self behind an ongoing reliance on a drug. Slater also addresses Prozac's notorious "poop-out" effect and its devastating attack on her libido. This is the first memoir to reflect on long-term Prozac use, and reviewers agree that no one has written about Prozac with such beauty, honesty, and insight.

*12 million Americans take Prozac regularly
*Prozac Diary appeared on the Boston Globe and Independent bestseller lists
* Penguin Readers Guide Bound into Every Book

"Powerful. . . . The chemistry ofProzac Diary is beautiful."--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times ... Read more

Reviews (38)

A Worthy Addition To The Genre
Lauren Slater's 1999 memoir Prozac Diary is a worthy addition to the "women and madness" genre or for the millions currently taking antidepressants. What makes Slater's book a standout, though, is that it's the experience of one of the first people to use Prozac for depression. Slater writes her diary ten years after she first started taking the drug regularly in 1988, so we get to read of the long-term affects of daily dosing and how the drug changed her life over time. What was most interesting about Slater's story is how she had to learn to live life as a no-longer-depressed person. Her entire life, depression and its consequences dominated her life, gave her life meaning and routine, and defined who she was. When the "Zac" started working, she struggled to develop a new sense of herself, separate and apart from the depressed Lauren.

For me, the problem was that there wasn't enough experience there; something felt missing from the story. Perhaps it was the editor's fault. Or maybe my expectations were incorrect from the start. Slater's history is briefly given: lifelong struggles with depression and other forms of mental illness, a history of hospitalizations and attempts at various therapies, none of which were successful until Prozac in 1988. Perhaps I wanted to know more or I wanted the story to be told in a different style. I can't put my finger on it, but for this reader there was just something missing. Slater's writing style is poetic, but it was sometimes a distraction.

I highly recommend the book to those interested in antidepressants for any reason, whether it's history of Prozac's rise to prominence (what some call the aspirin of our age), how it affects people over the short and long-term, or simple voyeurism into the mind and life of someone classified as mentally ill. Lauren Slater truly benefited from this drug, and while many people think Prozac is tossed around too freely these days, she is an excellent example of whom this drug was originally developed for. It's staggering and sad to think how many lives could have been saved if we'd had this drug fifty years ago.

Prozac Diary is a slim read that can be devoured in one day by the voracious reader. Definitely worth the time for those of us living in this Age of Anxiety.

an interesting book carried by her strong writing
I have read reviews that call this a great book and I think that's a bit of an overstatement but it is worthwhile as an honest and very well-written account of everything they don't tell you about Prozac in those magazine ads. Slater did write a great book, her first one, "Welcome to My Country," and this follow-up seems a calculated attempt to capitalize on the first bit of acclaim she won with something sexy like Prozac. Still, she can pull it off because she has so much insight and writes so well.

Truly one of my favorite books
Prozac Diary is more than another book about antidepressants; it chronicles one woman's journey to accept herself, her past, her illness and its treatment. For those who haven't experienced this, the book will probably be boring. For those who have, it's like finding a friend.

A different view, but not for everyone...
Last night, I finished the book Prozac Diary by Lauren Slater. Since I started taking fluoxetine (generic form of Prozac) a few months ago for dysthymia, I figured it would be interesting to read of some experiences of others who have used the drug.

Slater was one of the first to start using Prozac in 1988 and talks about her 10 year "relationship" with the drug. She had some serious mental disturbances, and taking Prozac was yet another attempt to deal with them. She chronicles the changes in her personality, the highs and lows of those changes, and how she dealt with the effect called "Prozac poop-out" when the drug ceases to work after an extended period of time. On the positive side, she went on to become an accomplished psychologist after being a drifter for the first part of her life. On the down side, she still struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCP) and feels that in some ways the Prozac has suppressed a number of internal parts of her personality.

For me, I couldn't relate to much of what the author wrote. For one, there's a vast difference between low-level depression (dysthymia) and OCP/self-mutilation. I could go back to my "old" self and function ok. I just don't want to... :-) She can't. Also, her style of writing is very "artistic" for lack of a better term. Readers who are in touch with emotional writing will relate, but those looking for a clinical examination and discussion won't find it here. If you look deep enough, you can see some themes that might make sense (Prozac as a personality/intellectual "steroid"), but for me the writing gets in the way of that.

If you struggle with Prozac, this might be a good read for you in order to get a different viewpoint. Just don't judge all Prozac users by this book.

Overwritten
The main fault I find with this book is the way it is written. The author uses too many metaphors, which I found annoyingly abstract. I had a sense that the author wanted to write in a catchy way so that it would sell. There is no way I can read her mind when she wrote the book but it just didn't seem frank. It was almost as if she was thinking "Nothing in here should sound too dull or boring or no one will want to read it". She seemed to go overboard with the colorful images - every paragraph was written (in a way that a student might try to spice up a creative writing paper in order to get an A), but paradoxically her effect *was* quite boring, in a way I can't describe. It would have been better if she was told from the outset to eliminate all poetry and flowery phrases and just share what her life was like. Or, perhaps her book is the unfortunate product of "what are we supposed to think when we want our illness to be understood by the public" -- as the catchier something sounds the more likely it will get noticed (as in a glossy ad). I do think it would take a gifted writer in order to get noticed in the first place, especially in a subject as obscure and little-understood (in most peoples' perceptions) as 'depression'. It would be very hard to sell ourselves in our success-oriented culture (USA), unless it is a giant act of heroism (in the conventional sense of the word) or an extreme anomaly or exaggeration of sorts (Perhaps if Laura Slater had two heads along with her taking Prozac she could be more optimistic about her chances :-). Depression is a very banal illness -- something that is more likely to go unnoticed or seem 'self-absorbed' if expressed in a completely candid way.

I can only speculate why Slater overdid herself in this book "See? My experience with depression is not so dull or boring. I can ENTERTAIN you with my flowery prose". There were a number of times that I would have wanted her to get into the specifics of her day-to-day experience - I wanted to know what she was feeling, her thoughts, particularly the ones that we depressives wouldn't dare share with anyone else - the ones that most haunt and embarrass us. Instead I felt dissatisfied with all the stuff that was very catchy but didn't seem to quite fit. She seemed to be trying to make rainbows with her prose when the reality might have been a bit of grey. ... Read more

Book Description

Deirdre Bair has written about some of the most influential figures in 20th century culture--Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, and AnaÔs Nin. Now she turns her expert eye to the one person whose teachings and writings are the most influential of all: psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung. The founder of analytical psychology, Jung became the first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association in 1910. Jung had a professional relationship with Sigmund Freud until he broke with the elder father of psychoanalysis over his emphasis on infantile sexuality and the Oedipus complex. As Freud's influence has waned over the years, Jung's ideas--the collective unconscious, the archetypal myths underpinning all societies, synchronicity, "new age" spirituality, and much more--have achieved an overwhelming ascendancy. Bair addresses the myths about Jung--accusations that he was an anti-Semite and a misogynist, and that he falsified data--with evidence from his own writings and from those of his colleagues and former patients. The result is a groundbreaking and accessible work that promises to be the definitive life of Carl Jung. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Jung at Heart
Having been a Jung devotee since my college days in the 70s, I was enthralled to pick up the latest entry on the subject of the great Master. However, I must say to D. Bair what the emperor said to Mozart in the movie, Amadeus; TOO MANY NOTES. In this case, footnotes. There are 202 PAGES of them. One chapter had 171, another 168. My only wish here is that the writer herself would be forced to read the book, having to flip time and time and time again, from the text to the footnotes. If this had been a PHD dissertation, then maybe one could get away with the neverending notes, but to the general reader and buyer, it was overkill. And even sadder was that you HAD to read them, because occasionally one would be vital to ones understanding. In addition, this was a book sadly in need of a proofreader and an editor. Typos, misinformation, sentences that were incomplete or made no sense; all of these abounded in the book. But most important of ALL, and this is a CONDEMNATION of the whole publishing industry: IF THE BOOK IS PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH THEN YOU MUST PRINT IN ENGLISH ALL QUOTES IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE !! Which this book doesnt do at all! Now having said all of that, I did plod through to the end and I was glad I did, because the bottom line is I do know more now about the man that I did before hand and aint that what reading is all about.

wonderful, definitive life of Jung
I agree with Louis Jaffe, that this a great contribution to an
understanding of Jung. Here is no 'saint', but in an strange and
wonderful way, the man emerges despite all the shadows, as the rich, profound and complex man we have come to know. Bair starts
out rather unsure of her subject's "likeableness", yet by the end of the story, she grows in respect for this great man, despite her intense objectivity (unlike the review of the NewYork Times, or Publishers Weekly, which says more about the reviewrs' agenda, than it does about Jung!) In this regard, she is a master of fairness, incredible research and new information; and even his very-'Swissness', (which is not always positive) sheds new light on his psychic backgound.
Like all circles around agreat personality, the infighting is
legendary, and gives a fascinating insiders view. Her detail is
amazing, and sometimes threatens to overwhelm the reader, but those who persist will be amply rewarded.

A Complete Biography of Carl Gustav Jung
I picked up Deirdre Bair's book "Jung: A Biography" because of my long held interest in 20th century European history, particularly the halcyon years before World War I. Certainly Carl Gustav Jung made a significant impact on European intellectual culture over is long life (1875-1961). Our very language is enriched by terms derived from his work: "archetype", "collective unconscious", "introvert" and "anima". The impact of psychoanalysis extended so far beyond the clinical interpretation and treatment of mental disorders that by 1935 "Politicians were being psychoanalyzed by reporters in the daily newspapers, the literary world was entranced with the possibilities the new science offered for individual creativity, and critics in every field were busy applying and misapplying its doctrines to many disparate genres and disciplines".

Deirdre Bair's book is masterful historical biography. Anyone with a serious interest in the evolution of psychological theory, treatment, and philosophy will benefit from this work. She explains the man and the people around him, his peers - particularly his relationship with Sigmund Freud -- , his travels, and professional activities. The book is monumentally detailed as evidenced by the 200 pages of notes and is a great source for understanding the publication and translation issues in bringing his major works to publication. The World War II period was particularly interesting, when Jung who was suspected as a Swiss German of being a Nazi sympathizer, actually was providing analysis of the German leadership to Allen Dulles.

The definitive treatment so far
Some have knocked this latest bio of C.G. Jung for not explicating his philosophy. But that is precisely one of its strengths! There are innumerable books that try to explain Jung's thought. Bair's focus is on Jung's life, told objectively, with particular attention to the many controversies about him that persist to this day. She doesn't flinch from such tough issues as his rumored womanizing or his alleged support for the Nazis. (On which point she reveals, among other surprises, that Jung actually worked as a special agent for the U.S. in Switzerland during WWII, reporting to Allen Dulles, future head of the CIA.) Unlike such writers as Richard Noll in "The Jung Cult," her goal isn't to vilify her subject. Ultimately she pictures a man who was far from perfect but deserved his place among the great thinkers. A must for anyone interested in Jung.

Fascinating & Well Written
This book is clearly the definitive biography of Carl Jung. Ms. Bair has carefully researched the details of Jung's life and provides the reader with an unvarished but quite balanced view of this profoundly important psychologist. The book focuses on Jung's life and the people who were important to him and not on his theoretical and practical contributions to Psychology. As a scholar in the field I learned much and am grateful to the author for her work. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Deep Water Passage is a very inspirational book.
Ann Linnea writes about many issues that women face as they grapple with motherhood, careers, love, relationships, and sense of self. Her harrowing kayak trip around Lake Superior is the back drop for her journey toward self realization. Her struggles with the elements, as she paddles, mirror her struggles toward self understanding. This is a wonderful book about courage, and an eloquent statement about what it means to be a woman. It is a good read for kayakers as well as non-kayakers, women, as well as men.

A Spiritual Awakening
The day after her 43rd birthday Ann Linnea (and her brother-friend, Paul) begin circumnavigating Lake Superior by kayak, a 1200-mile spiritual and physical journey of 65 days. In order to complete this passage, and move onto the next phase of her life (which includes leaving her husband of 21 years), the author struggles to overcome physical and emotional limits while battling raging seas, bitter winds and freezing temperatures. Her desire to understand the changes she needs to make lead her on a search for life-affirming answers, and ultimately allow her to find purpose and meaning in her life. The insights she shares enable the reader to bear witness to her transformation as she faces self-doubt, life-threatening danger and exercises her choice to live. A marathon runner and cross country skier, Linnea is no stranger to the elements, no idle pursuer of physical challenges. Her life lessons are learned through her body. In the summer of 1992, Ann Linnea became the first woman to circumnavigate Lake Superior. Her experience with "She-Who-Is-The-Biggest" changed her life. The telling of that experience is both moving and meaningful.

Spirtual: Yes; Kayaking: Maybe
I picked up this book expecting it to be a book about not only a woman finding herself and understanding the place where she was in her life better but also a book about kayaking around Lake Superior (a trip I'm about to embark on next spring). I was not disappointed by the Spiritual nature of the book (even if it was a bit too New Agey for me) but I was disappointed by the lack of good kayaking stories (other than the obligatory toughness of the trip type stories). I was also surprised by how "unexpectedly harsh" the author found Lake Superior and the lack of real knowledge of the lake she possessed (especially since she lived on the shores of the lake in Duluth, MN). Anyone preparing to make this trip should have been better prepared for the fickleness of Lake Superior and anyone who actually lives on the lake should have known this wasn't going to be your summer camp paddling trip. Like many other reviewers, I did find her whinning a bit much at times. BUT overall I found this book enjoyable, touching at many points and made me anxious to start my trip at Sault Ste. Marie in June. (Picky-Nicky note here: This town is called "The Soo" by us native Michiganders and not "The Sioux" as the author spells it in the book..it is a local shortening of Sault Ste. Marie pronounced "Soo Saint Marie", not named after the Indian tribe)

New Age Mish Mash on Water
My book club selected this, and I will admit it should generate lively discussion, if only because some of us will hate it, and some will like it. Personally, the new-agey spiritual narrative nauseated me. This lady whips out her personal altar at the drop of a hat; she is "stunned" by personal revelation to such an extent I wonder that emergency rooms around the lake weren't on high alert for her presence; she finds signs in things most normal people wouldn't even notice. While she writes about a spiritual journey,and personal transformation, ultimately, this is a story about a frustrated housewife who is figuring out how to get on with the rest of her life and needs a slew of new-age speak to get there.

Inspiring journey
Ann's book was inspiring to me - her vivid descriptions of Lake Superior country and the inner landscapes she traversed helped me journey within myself as I read. It was an intimate and poignant story that I enjoyed very much. ... Read more

Book Description

The multi-talented English explorer Sir Richard Burton describes his three-year voyage throughout Central Africa from 1856 to 1859. In an attempt to interest both the scholar and the common reader, Burton mingles accounts of his own adventures with more scientific observations. Burton's fascinating chronicle contains detailed geographic and socio-cultural information, as well as commentary which is often offensive but always interesting to scholars of colonial Africa. Lake Regions of Central Africa is considered a prime example of an explorer's journal. In two volumes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Well worth the effort
The book is a detailed chronological account of nearly three years of difficult travel between Zanzibar and Lake Tanganyika, circa the late 1850's. Nothing escapes Burton's observation. He writes of everything from the local hairstyles to the price of pombe (African beer). He gives detailed descriptions of the landscape, geography, flora, and fauna. He writes of Arabs and the Eastern slave trade. He depicts safari life in the days of human porters and mules. He tells of the people he encounters, though his descriptions of Africans may be offensive to some. There is a wealth of information here, something for everyone with an interest in Eastern Africa, or exploration, or imperialism. The place names have sometimes changed from Burton's time to ours, as have the English spelling conventions of Swahili words. Anyone with any interest in Eastern Africa, especially the precolonial period, should arm themselves with a good atlas and reference book and read Burton.

Burton led an amazing life of exploration and scholarship [he wrote "The Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah" after disguising himself as an Arab to travel to the sacred city; he visited Salt Lake City and wrote "City of the Saints"; after exploring in South America he wrote "Explorations of the Highlands of Brazil"; and he translated the "Arabian Nights" and poetry of Luís de Camões], still he may not be an easy writer to come to terms with for many contemporary readers. He is far from what we would call "politically correct". But he wrote so much and so well, and is practically the only writer to travel in Eastern Africa in the 1850's that is in print today (except for John Hanning Speke who was with him on this trip, and who wrote "Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile").

To put this book in context it is wise to read something about Burton, particulary Burton and Speke in Africa; know why in "Lake Regions" Burton never refers to Speke by name. (There are a few Burton biographies, and books about Burton and Speke; or see the movie: "Mountains of the Moon") ... Read more

Book Description

A poignant and unforgettable memoir of growing up orphaned. Francine was three years old when her father died, and by the time she was eleven, her mother was dead of breast cancer. "I had been hurled over a cliff," she writes. "The irreversibility of what had happened crashed down on me; a nauseating wave of fear and a flood of tears followed. I didn't know who I was without my mother. . . . What would fill the vast space left by the disappearance of this all-consuming relationship? How would I spend my time? What would I become?" In answering these questions, Dr. Francine Cournos offers a beautifully written memoir of an injured child's inner life, and the moving --even exhilarating --story of the ways in which, after much struggle and with considerable help from others, that injured child living in a foster home grew to become a happy and successful adult. In City of One, an inspiring account of triumph over childhood adversity, a distinguished psychiatrist applies her expertise to her own true story of growing up orphaned. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

moving and brave
This book moved and enlightened me.Cournos' story of surviving what every child fears most--the loss of both her parents--is raw, vivid, and remarkably compassionate given that she became a foster child throughwillful neglect on the part of her extended family.Cournos succeeds intransforming her own particular journey into a roadmap for others who wantor need to understand what it is to be an orphan.Brave and beautifullydone!

Excellent knowlege of Foster Care system and loss of family.
As a psychiatric social worker this book gives an excellent perspective on the foster care system, how we would knew it and what it has become.In addition the book Dr.Cournos writes sheds an enormous light on thealienation of family and the reasons that alienation might occurr.It is asad tale with a shinning light ending. As a mother who has almost lost achild to cancer, this book has inspired me to look ahead and consider allthe possibilities, as Dr. Cournos has.It is a book that all should read.

Excellent knowlege of Foster Care system and loss of family.
As a psychiatric social worker this book gives an excellent perspective on the foster care system, how we would knew it and what it has become.In addition the book Dr.Cournos writes sheds an enormous light on thealienation of family and the reasons that alienation might occurr.It wasa sad story with a shinning light ending.

A compelling and touching memoir
It didn't occur to me that I would be so touched by Francine Cournos's book.I have an interest in child welfare issues, which is why I read it.She deals with a much bigger issue than foster care -- she writes about thevoluminous effect that the loss of parents can have on a child throughouthis or her life.Brava, Dr. Cournos.Thank you for sharing your life withus.This is a must-read for anyone who works with children in any arena.

Dr. Cournos' memoir gives voice to the effects of early loss
As a writer, and as someone whose own experiences of childhood loss and its aftereffects closely parallel those of Dr. Cournos, I found City of One both deeply moving and comforting.We who have the hole where the lovingparent should be, we who deal with the myth and the anger and the quest forwholeness, understand every word.Not only does Dr. Cournos evoke the painof the loss, but her honesty and her search for the strengths that can comefrom a tragic early life goes beyond judgment and pathology.It goes tothe things that define our lifelong sense of who we are.I highlyrecommend this memoir to anyone who wants to understand or who struggleswith these issues. ... Read more