Ebook Becoming Myself A Psychiatrist Memoir Irvin D Yalom 9781541698994 Books

Product details Paperback 352 pages Publisher Basic Books; Reprint edition (May 28, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1541698991

Becoming Myself A Psychiatrist Memoir Irvin D Yalom 9781541698994 Books Reviews

• This Memoir was a "Soulful Finale" as Dr. Yalom's final book. I tried to make it last by processing a few chapters at a time. Love the format of short chapters beginning in his childhood and taking us through many memories of his life, both personal and professional.
  Within the Memoir, Dr. Yalom offers revealing insight into his conceptualization of his many books and the beautiful retreats where he wrote in solitude. I will surely re-read them with that in mind. His unique personal commentary entwined in many of his books continues in this one. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Rollo May. I find Dr. Yalom's thoughtful honesty so refreshing in our current world where truth and ethics seem to be fading. I will continue to share his work with my students to keep the "rippling" flowing.
  As we all experience Dr. Yalom's "final book", may we stand and applaud his wisdom and our connections, requesting an ENCORE! (from his ongoing "Ideas for writing" file). I'd like to hear more stories about living an exemplary life (in spite of) and the many types of love along the way from someone who does it so well. With deep appreciation.
• The title of this remarkable memoir could well have been "Revealing Myself." Dr. Yalom does just that with refreshing candor throughout this engrossing story of his life.
  The story of his relationship with, and feelings for, his parents are particularly telling. His literary and intellectual interests were not ones shared by his immigrant mother and father. Indeed, these interests drew him away from them. But his parents still were always there to help him advance his career by financing his education, giving him the down payment for the purchase of his current home, and loving him in their own way. Given the historically difficult relationship the author had with his parents, and his mother in particular, it is noteworthy that the author dedicates the book to their memory, as well as to the memory of his sister, about whom we learn little in the book. To me, it shows that Dr. Yalom has come to understand and appreciate that his parents were always supportive of him.
  I most admired the author's willingness to face the fear of death with his patients, and with himself. My experience is that this is a subject generally avoided by many psychiatrists. There seems indeed to be a conspiracy of silence between most therapists and their patients on this critical subject. But not with Yalom! He faces the issue of death head on, and has done so successfully for decades.
  I am an artist who paints objects not visible to the naked eye, such as those things one sees in a drop of pond water through a microscope. Likewise, Yalom, with his own intellectual microscope, sees so much of the internal life of a patient that others, including the patient himself/herself, simply does not see. As such, I see Dr. Yalom as an artist, but simply operating in a different realm from me.
• I'm so impressed with and cannot stop talking about the author’s latest work, which has opened up new vistas for me both in my work as a therapist and as a person. Not taking into consideration his unique writing ability, his stellar educational credentials and his high level of professional experience, I see some parallels in our two lives. Although I had wanted to go to med school and I had wanted to become a writer, after many years of struggle in various sales and marketing endeavors, I finally and belatedly got into the psychotherapy field in the year 2001, when I became 60. I have been a practicing clinician since that time. This is an amazing book and has provided me with tremendous insight and fleshed out my place on the Great Mandalla of therapy.
• I loved and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Yalom is very honest, not holding back, not hiding, ego-free and without inhibition. Other members of our book club had already read his other books and thought this one was not as good. But not having read his earlier books, I loved this one and finished it very quickly. We later read one of his other books (when Nieche Wept) which is brilliant. I now know what they meant. But you cannot compare a novel to a memoir. Unfair comparison. Highly recommend this and his other books.
• This is a wonderful book. For those who have been touched or influenced by Yalom's work, this is a must read. In this memoir, Yalom gives his audience an intimate and engaging window into the way he thinks, feels, and lives his life. All psychotherapists should be reading Yalom and learning from his intelligence, genuineness, courageousness, and compassion for those whose lives he touches. This is true not only as a psychotherapist, but also as a man devoted to family, learning, and balance. I have read every book he has written, and this memoir makes them all the more vivid, revealing, and understandable. I highly recommend this book to those who desire to become closer to Yalom, the man.