Publication

1997 - Scribner, New York, NY, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

80,000 words, Guess

Page Count

320 pages

Identifiers

and 2 more
  • LibraryThing517944
  • Goodreads2849584

Classifications

  • DDC616.89/156
  • LCCRC488.5 .K76 1997

Description

A writer who presents his vast knowledge of psychiatry with the art of a novelist, Peter D. Kramer imagines scenarios in which he addresses a series of advice seekers. Each "session" not only reveals the various styles of giving advice - from Freudian psychoanalytic techniques to Ann Landers's application of conventional values - but probes the complexities of human relationships: How do we choose our partners? How well do we know them? How do mood states affect our assessment of them and theirs of us? When should we work to improve a relationship, and when should we walk away? What does "working on a relationship" entail? Kramer's questions lead to a reconsideration of our culture's norms - and to a suggestion that we may have begun to over-value autonomy and assertiveness at the cost of intimacy and connectedness.

First Sentence

ALL YOU want is a simple piece of advice.

Excerpt

ALL YOU want is a simple piece of advice.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Should you leave?Scribner1997-01-01

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