Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist's Memoir
by Irvin D. Yalom
Related videos
20:53
Author reflects on autobiography in video call + vintage photos
4K
52
Feb, 2018
Spoiler:
In a thoughtful and honest reflection, the author admits that all memoirs, his included, are subject to flawed memory and wishful thinking, although he says that his wife helped him by adding her memories to his. He says his early life was marked by “deprivation,” growing up in a bad neighborhood with a father who worked twelve-hour days six days a week. He says he is a “great spokesman” for therapists undergoing “continual therapy,” advising that there are limits to self-analysis.
12:06
Book summary and review + quotes in talking-head format
341
13
Nov, 2020
Spoiler:
The reviewer explains that the book is ideal for those interested in therapy, writing, or both. The video emphasizes the author’s lifelong investment in groups, from leading group therapy to family life to case presentation groups to writing groups. The author’s non-academic writing grew out of his practice of writing summaries of therapy sessions, and of sometimes asking his patients to do the same. The autobiography includes many behind-the-scenes stories about how his other books were conceived and developed.
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