Creatures of a Day

In his long and distinguished career, Irvin Yalom has pressed his patients and readers to grapple with life's two greatest challenges: that we all must die, and that each of us is responsible for leading a life worth living. In CREATURES OF A DAY, he and his patients confront the difficulty of these challenges. In recounting his patients' dilemmas, Yalom not only gives us an enthralling glimpse into their personal desires and motivations but also tells us his own story as he struggles to reconcile his emotional life with the demands placed on him.

With compassion and humility, he prods his patients to explore the anxiety, fear and vulnerability that accompany their thoughts about death. His patients are reticent, confused and frustrating, but also open, insightful and inspiring - from the former CEO struggling to adjust to life in a retirement home, to the young professional dealing with the loss of both of his parents, to the former ballerina realising that her days on the stage are far behind her. Then there is the lonely writer with terminal cancer who spends her last weeks in Yalom's office, looking for someone to shepherd her through cancer's brutal accentuation of all life's 'pleasure and sweetness' even as it sweeps it away. Although these people have come to Yalom seeking relief, recognition or meaning, he and they discover that such things are rarely found in the place where we think to look.

As documented through Yalom's masterful storytelling, CREATURES OF A DAY shows that the process of psychotherapy can create some of the most engrossing human dramas imaginable. It provides an intelligent, compassionate, yet still unflinching look at the human soul and all the pain, confusion and hope that go with it. The power of these stories is amplified by Yalom's reflections on his own life as he reckons with its inevitable end. Suffused with humour, great artistry and a profound humanity, CREATURES OF A DAY lays bare the necessary task we each face, each day, to make our own lives meaningful.

“Poignant and beautiful insights from a wise therapist looking back on a career, a therapist who happens to be a writer I greatly admire - Creatures of a Day is just what the Doctor ordered!”

Dr Yalom demonstrates once again that in the right hands, the stuff of therapy has the interest of the richest and most inventive fiction. (Love's Executioner) - New York Times

Inspired... Yalom writes with the narrative wit of O.Henry and the earthy humor of Isaac Bashevis Singer. - San Francisco Chronicle

Irvin Yalom writes like an angel about the devils that besiege us. These beautifully wrought true stories go way beyond therapy; they are incisive and moving tales of life, by a wise psychotherapist (Love's Executioner). - Rollo May

Love's Executioner is one of those rare books that suggests both the mystery and the poetry of the psychotherapeutic process. The best therapists are at least partly poets. With this riveting and beautifully written book, Irvin Yalom has joined their ranks. - Erica Jong

Poignant and beautiful insights from a wise therapist looking back on a career, a therapist who happens to be a writer I greatly admire - Creatures of a Day is just what the Doctor ordered! - Abraham Verghese, author of CUTTING FOR STONE

Dr. Yalom has written a magical book. Anyone who has ever thought about his or her own aging or mortality will love this book. The result will be that of meeting, up close, a truly wise man, a really kind man, and of feeling deeply understood - George Vaillant, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard University

Dr Irvin Yalom is an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and the author of many books, including Creatures of a Day and the bestselling Love's Executioner. He and his wife, the author Marilyn Yalom, live in Palo Alto, California.

'Dr Yalom has written a magical book. Anyone who has ever thought about his or her own aging or mortality will love this book. The result will be that of meeting, up close, a truly wise man, a really kind man, and of feeling deeply understood' George Vaillant, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard University, and author of Triumphs of Experience and Aging Well What makes life worth living? What can we do to lead meaningful lives? And how do we confront our inevitable end? In his long career, eminent psychotherapist and author Irvin Yalom has pressed his patients and readers to grapple with life's two greatest challenges: that we all must die, and that each of us is responsible for leading a life worth living. In Creatures of a Day, he and his patients face the difficulty of these challenges. Although these people have come to Yalom seeking relief, recognition, or meaning, he and they discover that such things are rarely found in the places where we think to look. Like Love's Executioner and Yalom's other writing, Creatures of a Day provides an intelligent, compassionate, yet still unflinching look at the human soul and all the pain, confusion, and hope that go with it. The power of these stories is amplified by Yalom's reflections on his own life as he reckons with its inevitable end. Suffused with humour, great artistry and a profound humanity, Creatures of a Day lays bare the necessary task we each face, each day, to make our own lives meaningful.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.