Staring at the Sun

At the age of 74, bestselling author Irvin Yalom turns his attention to one of the great human questions: our fear of death. He suggests that what he calls the 'awakening experience' can help us acknowledge, accept, and make use of our fear of death in a positive manner. These awakening experiences often follow a loss, a trauma, or the death of a loved one, illness or just growing old. Yalom shows us how such an awakening can be the turning point for a more meaningful life.This is a practical and tremendously useful book, including methods and techniques for dealing with the most prevalent kinds of fear: that anxiety which is hidden and appears to us as other problems in our lives. Dr. Yalom argues that once we confront our own mortality, we are inspired to rearrange our priorities, communicate more deeply with those we love, appreciate more keenly the beauty of life, and increase our willingness to take the risks necessary for personal fulfilment.

"One of America's finest therapists guides us through one of life's most challenging tasks in this profoundly helpful book. It will benefit anyone who reads it." -- Rabbi Harold Kushner, author, When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"Unlike many psychotherapists, Yalom writes like a dream." -- The Oxford Times
"The idea that the anxiety of facing death can prompt an awakening to life strikes a powerful chord." -- The Bookseller
"Drawing on literature and film, as well as conversations with his patients, Yalom demonstrates how the fear of retirement, concerns about changing jobs or moving to another city, or changes in family status (such as the empty nest) are rooted in our deepest, most inescapable fear: of death. Yet, he says, this anxiety can prompt an awakening to life and help us realize our connections to others and our influence on those around us. Through such experiences we can transcend our sense of finiteness and transiency and live in the here and now." -- Publishers Weekly
"Psychiatrist Yalom (emeritus, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Medicine) is noted for his stories (Love’s Executioner), novels (When Nietzsche Wept), and writing on group and existential psychotherapy. As the only creatures with foreknowledge of death-what Yalom calls “the mother of all religions” — we humans must find or create meaning within the limits of our existence. Yalom uses examples from therapy sessions, dreams, his own encounters with death, and his exchanges and experiences with his mentors and teachers to engage the reader in a compelling conversation among equals. The chapter titles “The Power of Ideas,” “The Awakening Experience,” “Overcoming Death Terror Through Connection,” and “Advice for Therapists” indicate his approach: viewing death’s shadow can save us from despair without the consolation of religion. At 75, Yalom proves to be at the prime of life as a therapist, a writer, and a quotidian soul. For adults and mature teens and likely to be a classic in the area of serious self-help and psychology; an essential library purchase." -- Library Journal

Irvin D. Yalom is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. The author of the definitive textbook The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, which has sold 700,000 copies in eighteen languages and is now in its fifth edition, he also wrote Existential Psychotherapy, a textbook for a course that did not exist at the time. Dr Yalom has written several trade books for the general reader, including a collection of therapy tales, Love's Executioner, which was a New York Times best seller. Dr Yalom has an active but part-time private practice in Palo Alto and San Francisco, California. Sean Mangan was born in England, raised in Canada and brought to Australia by accident. He is a singer, musician, songwriter and author. Books narrated for Bolinda audio include John Birmingham's Dave Hooper Trilogy, Greig Beck’s The Void and The Abyss as well as many of Matthew Reilly's blockbuster titles, such as Area 7, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and The Great Zoo of China. He has narrated close to 100 audiobooks and brings intensity and excitement to his readings.

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