Hour of the Heart: empathy and connection in the here-and-now

(Paperback)

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'After some six decades of therapeutic practice and writing, I learned in a new and meaningful way how we humans - whether we're in the cool, distanced medium of Zoom, or in the heat of real life - can create a startlingly honest and heartfelt connection that in a single hour can change one's life.' What does 'the father of group therapy' do at the age of 90, when he is still advising patients in the therapy sessions that have been his life's work, and yet must face his increasing frailties and even his own mortality Rather than melt into retirement, Dr Yalom develops another revolutionary approach. In Hour of the Heart, Dr Yalom captures profound moments with his patients that happen in the span of just one hour, with people he will never see again. Taking place over two years before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and amid Dr Yalom's grief over losing his wife, these sessions would, as Dr Yalom writes, 'help to sustain my client and would profoundly alter my vision of what psychotherapy can do'. For any fans of Dr Yalom's work, and for therapists and for those in training, Hour of the Heart is a collection of deeply moving personal stories that will tap into how powerful authentic human connection can be. While these one-hour sessions are, in many cases, just the start of these patients' journeys, Dr Yalom's insights, and his willingness to open himself up to his patients in a way rarely seen in therapy, are truly illuminating. Praise for A Matter of Death and Life- 'For over half a century, the eminent psychiatrist Irvin Yalom has dazzled the world with his stories of the human psyche packed with wisdom, insight, and humour. Now, with stunning candour and courage, he shares with us the most difficult experience of his life- the loss of his wife and steadfast companion since adolescence. Partners to the end, including in the co-writing of this book, they share an indelible portrait of bereavement - the terror, pain, denial, and reluctant acceptance. But what we are left with is much more than a profound story of enduring loss - it's an unforgettable and achingly beautiful story of enduring love. I will be thinking about this for years to come.' -Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone 'A Matter of Death and Life is so much more than a book. It is an indefatigable love story. It is a text that traverses past and present. It is exquisite, candid, and vulnerable - absent the too-common defenses of artifice and pomposity - as it approaches the untenable pain of separation and unyielding yearning of loss. Every person would benefit from multiple readings of this intelligently relatable book, both to confront dying as we inch toward our own mortality and, perhaps more importantly, the grief when one so beloved precedes us in death. I am deeply enriched for having absorbed this intimate narrative, as I wipe the tears from my eyes. Irv and Marilyn's love story, ending in the tragedy of endings, is yours, mine, and all of ours.' -Dr Joanne Cacciatore, author of Bearing the Unbearable Praise for Creatures of a Day- 'Irvin Yalom has produced a book of such piercing depth that to enter into it is transformative. You feel less like you are reading Creatures of a Day than that it is reading you. Only a handful of books can accomplish such a feat. Give praise that one more has entered this rare and precious list.' -Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, MacArthur Fellow and author of Plato at the Googleplex and Betraying Spinoza

Author Bio

Irvin D. Yalom (Author) Irvin D. Yalom is emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. The author of two definitive psychotherapy textbooks, Dr Yalom has written several books for the general reader, including Love's Executioner, Staring at the Sun, Creatures of a Day, and Becoming Myself; and the novels When Nietzsche Wept; The Schopenhauer Cure, and The Spinoza Problem. Dr Yalom lives in Palo Alto and San Francisco, California. Benjamin Yalom (Author) Benjamin Yalom is a San Diego-based psychotherapist, with an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, who focuses on values, relationships, and existential concerns. He is a long-time writing collaborator with his father, Irvin D. Yalom. Prior to his doctoral studies in Marriage and Family Therapy, Ben was the visionary force behind foolsFURY theatre, which helped transform San Francisco's performing arts scene in the early 2000s. He is also an award-winning fiction writer.