Book Reviews

Following another challenging year, I am looking forward to the Christmas and New Year break as a chance to catch up with friends and family, unwind and even get lost in an enjoyable book. I am guessing some of you may be in a similar mood, but not everyone gets excited about the year-end holidays. For some it may bring up anxiety, loneliness or a feeling of overwhelm. Whatever your mood, I have an interesting review list that relates to our work, covering both the theory and practice of it as well as one review on popular beliefs that risk drowning out our individual thought and ideas.

The section is headed by Why in the World Not? by Miles Groth, who introduces daseinanalysis to English-speaking audiences, focusing on the work of its founder, Medard Boss, and the method's unique philosophical origins. It is followed by Dialogues on the Relationship in Existential Supervision by Aviva Keren Barnett and Dida Mitchell, a collection of dialogues on existential supervision, authenticity, openness, dialogue and mutual trust in the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Love's Labour by Stephen Grosz uses real-life stories to explore the lifelong emotional work required to sustain love, accept the full reality of loss and the vulnerability that comes with true connection. From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude by Michael Buchholz and Aleksandar Dimitrijević offers a clinical exploration of loneliness and solitude from various perspectives, including psychoanalytic, social, philosophical and artistic. Last, there is a review of Fascist Yoga by Stewart Home, who argues that modern yoga is influenced by early twentieth-century European esotericism and essentialism, rather than ancient Indian spiritual traditions or science-based evidence.

Ondine Smulders