This paper describes in narrative form the unusual treatment of a suicidally depressed middle-aged man. The patient found it all but impossible to free associate, but the analyst discovered in time that talking to him about dogs and books made it possible for them to connect. A shared passionate interest in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, a trilogy that brought the patient’s deepest selfobject longings into sharp relief, led them to consider traveling to London to see it performed at the National Theater when it was adapted for the stage, which they ultimately did. How the idea of this journey evolved and what occurred during it and in its aftermath is discussed. As is the question of what constitutes therapeutic action.