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Sigmund Freud was hardly a pioneer in concluding that “common unhappiness” (Freud, 1895, p. 305) is integral to human existence. Buddha's first Noble Truth is comprised of this very realization and Henry David Thoreau (1854) grimly declared that most men live a life of “quiet desperation.” Attempting to operationalize these notions, I recently delineated six “burdens of sanity” (Akhtar, 2009, p. 42). These included (i) factual uncertainty, (ii) conceptual complexity, (iii) moral ambiguity, (iv) cultural impurity, (v) personal responsibility and, (vi) total mortality. A “sane” person might escape the anguish of neurosis and the terror of psychosis but can do little to avoid these existential “burdens.” Even under the best of circumstances, life is not easy - it seems.
This, by no means, implies that all is lost. The fact is that despite its inherently challenging nature, life provides all sorts of opportunities for getting involved with the world, finding love for others, discovering new configurations within oneself, and transcending our time, space, culture, and gender-bound existence. The counterpart of biopsychosocial challenge is the resilience of mind, body and soul (Parens et al., 2008). This becomes more marked when variables beyond our control (e.g. heredity, illness, politics) force us to face a life of greater than usual adversity.
The three books reviewed here vividly convey this message. The first book, Deaf Subject, pertains to those who have lost (or, mostly lost) their hearing. The second book, Eavesdropping, describes a blind man's adventures in the realm of listening. And the third book, Injured Men, elucidates the labyrinthine and long-term impact of massive trauma; it deals with Holocaust and the Vietnam War in poignant details. Their respective reviewers, Barbara Cohen, Jessica Lahrmann, and Richard Hertel offer us succinct summaries, balanced critiques, and thoughtful extension of ideas contained in these highly nuanced and humane books. Read and