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The author of this book is a training analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich, and her primary discipline is teaching language and literature. She has produced a beautifully written review of the literature on narcissistic disorders which can be highly recommended to psychotherapists, parents and teachers, and also to the lay reader. Her book is illustrated by numerous case histories, dreams, patients' drawings and, in particular, fairy tales. Early abandonment and self-estrangement are the root causes of narcissistic disorders, and the author justifies the use of her depressing title by pointing out that attempts are often made to sweep precisely these negative feelings under the carpet. The paternal attitudes which pervade our culture lead to the use of heroic means whereby painful feelings and emotion are denied, leading to personality disorders and somatic conversion symptoms. The title thus serves to underline the basic tenets of the narcissistic character structure.
Dr Asper developed a special interest in narcissistic disorders, as they presented themselves so frequently in her practice. It is thought that Freud and Jung did not see such patients all that frequently because most of them had a very much stronger ego structure. This is partly attributable to the weakening of collective supporting institutions in our current world situation. Classical analytical procedures are easily seen by these patients as moral judgements which are clearly contra-indicated where there is so little self-appreciation. The author examined her own narcissistic side and thus obtained a deeper understanding of the patients she was treating.
The book is divided into two parts. The first four chapters deal with abandonment itself, aetiology in terms of the mother/child relationship, abandonment as narcissistic disturbance, and narcissism seen symbolically. People with considerable narcissistic wounds often find it difficult to recall the circumstances of their abandonment. Never