Learning from life by Patrick Casement London and New York:  Routledge. 2006.  212 p.

The experience of reading this book is similar to looking at a painting and resonating to its narrative. You gradually discover how different aspects of the book come together. You see how light and colours emphasize subjects, illuminate information and convey a mood or atmosphere. You also get a sense of the process that engaged the author in the artwork.

This book is not an autobiography, although it contains autobiographical elements. It is not a theoretical essay, although theoretical elements are part of the picture. It is not a thesis about psychoanalytic technique, although technical issues are present in vivid colours. It does not focus on psychoanalytic epistemology, although epis-temological traces are part of the landscape. It appears to be made up of many dabs of paint. Every splotch of paint shows a different shade of colour and shape: aspects of the author's personal history, self-revelations, some anecdotal references, clinical vignettes, conceptual points and, implicitly, some ethical principles for the practice of psychotherapy. Gradually, you begin to see the artwork as a whole and engage with Patrick Casement's pursuit of wisdom in the way he tries to make sense of life and, at the same time, make sense of what he has observed in the consulting room.