As I mentioned in my last post, sales figures for my book SHAME were so weak that my publisher agreed to sell me back the publication rights. That book was (is) deeply important to me, and I had so much invested in its success, that its relative “failure” was a profound shame experience for me.… Continue reading Recovering from Shame
Why We Feel Shame Around the Holidays
Here’s a link to my latest for Psychology Today, about how cultural imaging of the ideal Christmas can inspire shame in those of us whose lives don’t look like a Hallmark card. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shame/201812/why-we-feel-shame-around-the-holidays
Shame for the Person You Used to Be
W.R. Bion, a British psychoanalyst who worked with psychotic and schizophrenic patients, identified a difficult transition point in their treatment. As psychotic process gradually gave way to the reality principle — that is, as his clients became more sane — they would have to confront the pain of how ill they had been before. This… Continue reading Shame for the Person You Used to Be
Australia-New Zealand edition of TNYK
My book is now available in Australia and New Zealand through Pan Macmillan. Like the UK edition, this one differs from the one released by Touchstone in North America and conforms to different libel and defamation laws in those countries. Order in Paperback Order eBook on iTunes Order eBook on Amazon.com.au
The Father’s Gaze
I have a memory of my father from when I was about seven years old. Whether it is factually accurate, it is emotionally true. My mother was in Texas at the time following the death of her mother. My other grandmother, my father’s mother, had come to stay with us because he didn’t cook, clean,… Continue reading The Father’s Gaze