Dreams of Love and Fateful Encounters

This groundbreaking study has been widely hailed for its focus on an emotion generally considered impervious to rational analysis: romantic love. Ethel Person views romantic, passionate love as a powerful agent of change, arguing that it is as central to human culture as it is to human existence. This new edition of Dreams of Love and Fateful Encounters emphasizes the relevance of passion not only to lovers but also to mental health professionals whose patients often enter treatment because of love-related issues—from the inability to love or make a commitment to the perils of extramarital love or the loss of love.

Dr. Person breaks with contemporary intellectual and philosophical dismissive attitudes toward romantic love by acknowledging its vital importance and power. She addresses not only the power of love to unlock the soul but also its inherent paradoxes and conflicts and its propensity to disintegrate and cause harm. Her provocative work boldly takes on issues of love pertinent to lovers, to professionals who encounter patients for whom key conflicts revolve around romantic love, and to anyone who has struggled to understand the importance of romantic love in his or her own life.