I was craving some hard-hitting non-fiction. Something to make my mind question itself. Something to make me stop, put the book down, and return days later after recuperating. I needed a book which would challenge me and what I thought I knew, a book which would teach me and shock me. Where else to turn to but psychotherapy. Who else to turn to but one of the master psychiatrists: Dr. Irvin Yalom. These pages provided me with all of the above, and so much more.
Dr. Yalom recalls ten of his patients, with startling clarity. We are given a rare and insightful glimpse of psychotherapy from not only the patients' points of view, but from the psychiatrist's point of view. Dr. Yalom, whilst unravelling mysteries of the mind, leaves us with many more. We hear about his own personal demons, his own internal struggles and motivations with shocking candour. The book shines light on the fact that psychiatrists are themselves human, and suffer themselves from the same human frailties we all do.
The writing style is enthralling. It is, itself, therapeutic. It is a musing account of Dr. Yalom's thoughts, his patients' lives and thoughts, and of what we are all thinking. When reading I keep beside me a journal, noting down anything I believe to be of value, anything I think profound, anything which makes an impression. Rarely do I find myself writing as much as I did whilst reading Love's Executioner. Throughout the book there are snippets of gold; little gems of thoughts, advice, life-lessons to take heed of.
I'm not usually one to enjoy Prefaces in books. Every word in the book is appropriate, it is informative, educating. From the Preface, I knew this book would leave me mentally drained, but addicted:
"Four givens are particularly relevant for psycho-therapy: the inevitability of death for each of us and for those we love; the freedom to make our lives as we will; our ultimate aloneness; and, finally, the absence of any obvious meaning or sense to life."
It is a foreshadowing of the rest of the book. I knew what was in store for me. A roller-coaster ride of emotion, learning, self-reflection. Love's Executioner is an exploration of the human condition, in all its phases, from all angles.
Dr. Yalom gracefully and humorously manoeuvres us around the cacophony we call our mind, whilst providing an illuminating insight into the sacred relationship between psychiatrist and patient.
Brilliantly heart-breaking, uplifting, and comical all in the same vein.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date of publication: 31st January 1991
Pages: 288
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
#mentalhealth #psychology #bookreview #review #nonfiction #psychotherapy #psychiatry #medical #clinicalpsychology