Momma and the Meaning of Life : Tales of Psychotherapy

Rating:
Summary: More of the same.
Review: "Momma and the meaning of life" is definately worth reading. As in his other books, Dr. Yalom articulately exposes his sometimes not so PC thoughts in order to illustrate his existential style of therapy. His stories are enlightening and create such empathy for his characters. However, if you haven't read "When Nietzsche Wept" or "Love's Executioner" you should start with those two books.

Rating:
Summary: The Absurdity of Life without the Acceptance of Death
Review: In his most recent work, Momma and the Meaning of Life, (a collection of 6 "tales of psychotherapy" - the first four based on fact, the last two fictional), Irvin Yalom reveals the basis for his existential beliefs: the certain knowledge of death, the closeness of it, the endurance of it and the fear of it are the reactions to life's brevity (and absurdity) that make us who we are. In the first self-titled story, Yalom's mother has been dead for a decade but a shared dream connects them in a symbiosis that transcends the individual life-span. Her wisdom is acquired by having experienced death. In "Travels with Paula", Yalom's patient (Paula) is on the verge of dying. His love for her transcends the physical - her body is ravaged by the scars of numerous operations to rid her of cancer - and is based on her nearness to death; and in "Southern Comfort" Yalom's patient (Magnolia) is the idealized earth mother who exists in a living death. She temporarily represents his yearning to return to the comfort of infantile bliss, until his idealization of her is disturbed by the discovery of her ordinariness. In "Seven Advanced Lessons in the Therapy of Grief", Yalom's patient (Irene) has endured the deaths of loved ones. In the analysis of her grief, she teaches him the absurdity of his research-acquired knowledge of death. These four women Momma, Paula, Magnolia and Irene demonstrate human responses to the awareness of death. The highest level of awareness is having died, next is imminent death, then, enduring a living death, or not allowing oneself the loan of life for having to pay the debt of death and finally, Yalom's own approach - aspiring to understand death through the writing of books and studying of others. The next two stories are purely fictional. Instead of Yalom, they feature the very earnest Dr. Lash. In "Double Exposure", Dr. Ernest Lash counters death anxiety by remaining in the "here and now" which he analyzes relentlessly. Dr. Lash's commitment to honesty and transparency makes it impossible to be other than vulnerable with his patients. In his own clueless way, Dr. Lash changes the object and how she sees him, proving that he isn't manipulative, worldly and vain, that he is really caring and lovable. "The Hungarian Cat Curse" is pure fantasy. The "curse" (of death) is timeless and exists in the unconscious, until it's vanquished by the confrontation of death's ultimate purpose. Myrna's analysis in "Double Exposure" suggests that rage in the patient's personality is a reaction to the eventuality of death. It is Yalom's best writing in the collection. If only Dr. Lash could teach Yalom that staying in the "here and now" is a valuable tool in writing as well as therapy, the other tales would have been a worthwhile to read.

Rating:
Summary: A very engaging read from beginning to end!
Review: Irv Yalom has done it again: He just keeps getting better. I found the stories gripping and suspenseful, with just the right touch of humor, and the perfect blend of fiction and non-fiction. Dr. Yalom has a real gift for sharing his insights into psychiatry with lay persons as well as medical professionals. Thoroughly enjoyable!!

Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful collection of tales from Irvin Yalom
Review: Irv Yalom returns with another poignant, instructive, and uplifting collection of tales about life, therapy, and fantasy as seen through the eyes of a gifted psychotherapist, teacher, and student of the human condition. And again, he accomplishes this with uncommon insight, courage, self-revelation, and eloquence.

Rating:
Summary: More tales from master psychotherapist and storyteller Yalom
Review: Not so long ago a paper was presented at a large psychological conference in America intriguingly entitled "Professors' office door decorations: what do they tell?" One wonders at the cryptic meanings to be read from the various brass, plastic, glass and wooden runes on professorial doors scattered across the land. Beyond door decorations, and into the seemingly mysterious world of human relations behind the therapy door, we are fortunate to have the doubly gifted storyteller and psychotherapist Irvin Yalom to let us in. His new book 'Momma and the Meaning of Life' is a second collection of therapy tales which, I am glad to say, carry the same spellbinding quality, grasp and erudition as his first collection contained in 'Love's Executioner'. For reader's unfamiliar to Yalom the pleasure of his writing is his darned ability to pull out sparkling insights from the darkest of places. Add to that a genius for telling stories and you are a little closer to understanding why this man's writing is so compelling. What is special about this book is that he reveals more about himself, through 'Momma', than any of his other books. His mother and a dream are the start of a trail that criss-crosses his life.

What about momma, what was she like? Yalom draws a picture of an ill tempered, overpowering and vain woman with whom he never remembers sharing 'a warm moment'. But she's not all-bad. Yalom shares a moment of them together, a moment when she enjoying her son's books. Unable to read them because of a sight problem, she handles then tenderly and says, "Big books. Beautiful books". The rational son, on the other hand, points out that it is what is 'in' the books that is important not how they feel. "Oyvin, don't talk narishkeit - foolishness. Beautiful books!" This motherly sense and presence is a quality that returns in different shapes to all of the six tales in the book. The tales being: 'Momma and the Meaning of Life'; 'Travels with Paula': 'Southern Comfort'; 'Seven Advanced Lessons in the Therapy of Grief'; 'Double Exposure'; and 'The Hungarian Cat Curse'. All the tales have elements, in varying degrees, of non-fiction. Some like 'Southern Comfort' (my favourite), a story concerning a remarkable black woman in inpatient psychotherapy, are pure non-fiction 'flecked only with fiction to conceal the patients' identity'. But, as the author also says, 'not only does fiction have its own truth, but every story, no matter how "true," is a lie because it omits so much.'

Yalom is both a storyteller and teacher. His 'academic' books succeed, having sold in thousands and having been translated in some twenty languages, because they impart knowledge through stories. These stories engage us regardless of whether or not we are health professionals because the only qualification we need are that we are human. His other books, not so 'Big books,' novels and collections of tales, like 'Momma and the Meaning of Life', find more readers (they cost appreciably less and look more approachable) but still contain the essence and gems of his existential psychotherapy. The words 'existential psychotherapy' I mention judiciously here at the end of my review because they would have undoubtedly switched you off, nor have I mentioned the word 'death' - a theme that runs through 'Momma'. It just goes to show how Yalom has found not only the perfect medium but also a way to engage and switch so many people on to these ideas. Yalom is a modern day alchemist, transmuting life's lead into gold.

Rating:
Summary: Yalom produces a surprisingly revealing account of therapy
Review: Some of Yalom's previous writings (such as "Love's Executioner") led me to perceive him as a skilled, although somewhat narcissistic, therapist. But this recent volume changed my mind. Yalom provides an unusually revealing look into the mind of a therapist as he struggles to help his patients, while dealing with his own his mortality and losses. The chapter describing his work with a troubled but courageous young widow is particularly moving. The inclusion of fictional short stories (the last two chapters of the book) was interesting, but did not flow well with the other real-life vignettes. I recommend reading the first four chapters, putting the book aside for a couple of weeks, then finishing the the last two. Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone interested in therapy, mortality, and the search for meaning in life.

Rating:
Summary: Greatly flawed but decent read.
Review: Some of Yalom's previous writings (such as "Love's Executioner") led me to perceive him as a skilled, although somewhat narcissistic, therapist. But this recent volume changed my mind. Yalom provides an unusually revealing look into the mind of a therapist as he struggles to help his patients, while dealing with his own his mortality and losses. The chapter describing his work with a troubled but courageous young widow is particularly moving. The inclusion of fictional short stories (the last two chapters of the book) was interesting, but did not flow well with the other real-life vignettes. I recommend reading the first four chapters, putting the book aside for a couple of weeks, then finishing the the last two. Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone interested in therapy, mortality, and the search for meaning in life.

Rating:
Summary: Greatly flawed but decent read.
Review: The problem with this book is that it leads you to think this a work of complete nonfiction, each chapter being a seperate tale of psychotherapy with patients, and the first 4 chapters were great - but the last two, the last one especially, really annoyed me because I kept thinking 'how could this possibly happen? this is ridiculous. Has this author completely lost his mind?? and when I finished reading the last chapter, I thought to myself, okay, this last chapter completely destroys all credibility this book ever had. Then I went to the copyright page, curious to see if it was listed as fiction or nonfiction, and what do i find? 'nonfiction except for chapters 5 and 6, which are works of fiction' well gee thanks for telling us ahead of time, would have made the reading a lot more enjoyable if i had known that!!

As I said, despite disagreeing with some fundamental aspects of Dr. Yalom's therapy, I did enjoy and gain insight from the first three chapters. But the last two really destroyed it for me. I'd give it a 4, but if you read it knowing the last two chapters are fiction, it would probably be upgraded to a 7.

Rating:
Summary: More of the same.
Review: This is a great book. As a therapist myself, I loved the candid exploration of client and therapist experiences during the theraputic process. I loved Love's Executioner, but this one is even more captivating. Ivan is older, more mature, and even more honest with himself, than ever before. I could not put this book down!

Rating:
Summary: Momma and the Meaning of Life
Review: This is the first book by Yalom I have read, and I really enjoyed his non-fiction stories about his encounters with patients. He made me wish I could find a therapist like him myself, even though I wasn't considering therapy. But I didn't enjoy his fiction stories at all. (one problem was my copy is missing page 200, so I never got to read the end of "Double Exposure"). I prefer his stories where he reveals himself along with the patients, and this is missing in the fiction stories. I prefer true stories as much as possible. Still, I am looking forward to reading his other books.