Love's Executioner

Why was Saul tormented by three unopened letters from Stockholm? What made Thelma spend her whole life raking over a long-past love affair? How did Carlos' macho fantasies help him deal with terminal cancer? In Love's Executioner psychotherapist Irvin Yalom gives detailed and deeply affecting accounts of his work with these and seven other patients. Their case histories lay bare human anxieties - isolation, fear of death or freedom, a sense of the meaninglessness of life - that few of us escape completely, and show how we can all come to terms with such fears. Throughout, Dr Yalom remains refreshingly frank about his own errors and prejudices; his book provides a rare glimpse into the consulting room of a master therapist. 'The best therapists are at least partly poets. With this riveting and beautifully written book, Yalom has joined their ranks.' Erica Jong 'Dr Yalom offers a vaulable insight into the delicate process of therapy.' Sunday Telegraph 'These remarkably moving and instructive tales of the psychiatric encounter bring the reader into novel territories of the mind - and the landscape is truly unforgettable.' Maggie Scarf 'Irvin Yalom writes like an angel about the devils that besiege us.' Rollo May 'Dr Yalom is unusually honest, both with his patients and about himself.' Anthony Storr