The Gift of Therapy

Even with the author's lengthy, often academic-sounding sentences, suave narrator Don Hagen delivers this gem of a book with a steady supply of the therapist's warmth and wisdom. Hagen's appealing tonal complexity and emotional depth convey the comforting reassurance you'd expect to hear in the words of an iconic 77-year-old psychiatrist. Yalom's contribution here is more that of artist than mental health provider--his sensitive observations of his own experience and especially his ideas about therapy interactions bring a humanity to this work that is often lacking in procedural therapy guides. He shows how his active engagement with his clients can be unsettling to them but helpful to the discovery process. Yalom's altruism and integrity are so powerful you can't imagine anyone objecting. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine