Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death

New in paperback. From Love's Executioner to The Gift of Therapy, over the past quarter century Irvin Yalom has established himself as the world's leading group psychotherapist. In this new work Dr Yalom opens the 'mortal wound', our knowledge of death. Carried by each and every human being, death anxiety is the price for our self-awareness and the shadow from which we cannot be separated. Because we cannot live frozen in fear, we turn to our children, to wealth, to fame, or to a belief in a higher power to soften death's terror. But in spite of the staunchest, most venerable of our defences, death anxiety is never completely subdued: it is always there, lurking in the hidden ravines of our minds.

At age 70 and facing his own fear of death, which he will discuss in a special after-word, Dr Yalom tackles his toughest subject yet, and finds it to be the root cause of patients' fears, stressors and depression. If therapists are to do their best to deliver 'the gift of therapy', they must confront the realities of life for themselves and their practice, as must we all. This book is a book of wisdom for us all about how to cope with our 'ultimate concerns'.