Let me begin by stating that I assigned Marilyn Charles's book to a class of clinical psychology doctoral students, all of whom very much appreciated the facility with which she introduced complex concepts from the theories of Bion and Lacan, two writers not known for the clarity of their prose.

Charles begins explaining how Lacan believed we are all presented with a notion of the world through the eyes of others, what he called “the subject caught in the desire of the Other.” Among other things, psychoanalysis, for him, entails the way the analyst helps his patient become “uncaught” in the Other's desire in order to cultivate desires of one's own. What does Lacan mean when he proposes that the unconscious is structured like a language? Like language, the unconscious mind creates connections and makes meaning. There are gaps in meaning, gaps that become the focus of analysis. Some gaps can be filled but others refer to the inevitable “lack” of awareness of our limits, the acceptance that we cannot be or have it all.