This volume is the latest—and arguably the best—by Celani in a series of significant discussions that encompass theoretical examination of Fairbairn as well as examples drawn from Celani's own work with patients. The quality and depth of perception place its author firmly in the ranks of other major thinkers and practitioners in the therapeutic area of Object Relations.

Celani, a clinical psychologist and nationwide lecturer, has been in practice in Burlington, Vermont, for over 25 years, having been drawn to a particular phenomenon: the pain arising from his patients' “attachment to bad objects.” He is the author of three other books that examine this kind of relationship: The Illusion of Love: Why the Battered Woman Returns to Her Abuser; Leaving Home: The Art of Separating from Your Difficult Family (both published by Columbia University Press); and The Treatment of the Borderline Patient: Applying Fairbairn's Object Relations Theory in a Clinical Setting, published by International Universities Press.