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PETER SHABAD'S book is a testament to the far-ranging and clinically astute observations of its author. One gets the impression that the book contains not only the thoughts and feelings of an experienced psychoanalyst, but also the personal and not infrequently painful musings of a highly sensitive human being. Shabad's writing style is often eloquent and includes references to a broad array of literary works as well as to psychoanalytic theorists. I find myself admiring of this ambitious undertaking, which is, in his words, a combination of “existential and psychoanalytic approaches to highlight the fact that we strive to rectify past sufferings and master internal conflicts always in the ever-lurking shadow of death” (p. xv).
Clinical illustrations are frequently moving, making it evident that Shabad is an analyst who not only cares deeply about his patients, but one who believes that it is precisely the analyst's caring and human connection that constitutes therapeutic action. He states, “The patient's sense of having enhanced the therapists's well-being also implies inclusive access and a crucial sense of belonging to the therapist's life. Ultimately it is this very personal sense of belonging to the therapist that may propel the patient's movement toward enlightenment, self-understanding and selfacceptance” (p. xix, italics added). Throughout the book he emphasizes the importance of the analyst being known by the patient, known as a separate other with all the uniqueness that would necessarily entail. Whereas I agree with Shabad's focus on the analytic relationship as a mutative factor in psychoanalytic treatment, I would have appreciated his delineating just how far he will go in being accessible to his patients; or, put differently, what are the professional and personal boundaries that he honors and under what conditions does he deviate from them.
It also appears from his writing that it is solely the symmetrical aspects