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Highlights
- From the internationally bestselling author of Love's Executioner and When Nietzsche Wept, comes a novel of group therapy with a cast of memorably wounded characters struggling to heal pain and change livesSuddenly confronted with his own mortality after a routine checkup, eminent psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is forced to reexamine his life and work -- and seeks out Philip Slate, a sex addict whom he failed to help some twenty years earlier.
- Author(s): Irvin Yalom
- 384 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Psychological
Description
Book Synopsis
From the internationally bestselling author of Love's Executioner and When Nietzsche Wept, comes a novel of group therapy with a cast of memorably wounded characters struggling to heal pain and change lives
Suddenly confronted with his own mortality after a routine checkup, eminent psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is forced to reexamine his life and work -- and seeks out Philip Slate, a sex addict whom he failed to help some twenty years earlier. Yet Philip claims to be cured -- miraculously transformed by the pessimistic teachings of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer -- and is, himself, a philosophical counselor in training.
Philip's dour, misanthropic stance compels Julius to invite Philip to join his intensive therapy group in exchange for tutoring on Schopenhauer. But with mere months left, life may be far too short to help Philip or to compete with him for the hearts and minds of the group members. And then again, it might be just long enough.
From the Back Cover
Suddenly confronted with his own mortality after a routine checkup, eminent psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is forced to reexamine his life and work -- and seeks out Philip Slate, a sex addict whom he failed to help some twenty years earlier. Yet Philip claims to be cured -- miraculously transformed by the pessimistic teachings of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer -- and is, himself, a philosophical counselor in training. Philips dour, misanthropic stance compels Julius to invite Philip to join his intensive therapy group in exchange for tutoring on Schopenhauer. But with mere months left, life may be far too short to help Philip or to compete with him for the hearts and minds of the group members. And then again, it might be just long enough.
Review Quotes
"Yalom's enthusiasm is contagious. And he certainly knows how to tell a page-turning story." -- Los Angeles Times
"Yalom's melding of philosophy, pedantry, psychiatry and literature result in a surprisingly engaging novel of ideas." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Considers the value and limits of therapy and those points at which philosophy and psychology converge." -- Washington Post
"A beautifully wrought tale of a therapy group's final year and a moving debate about the end of life." -- Kirkus Reviews
"As a novel of ideas, this book effectively explores loss, sexual desire, and the search for meaning." -- Library Journal
"The world's first accurate group-therapy novel, a mezmerizing story of two men's search for meaning." -- Greensboro News & Record
"Meticulous. [Yalom's] re-creation of a working therapy group is utterly convincing." -- Publishers Weekly
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