Psychoanalysis works by attending to the patient's side effects, "what falls out of his pockets once he starts speaking." Undergoing psychoanalytic therapy is always a leap into the dark—like dedicating our hearts and intellect to a powerful work of literature, it's impossible to know beforehand its ultimate effect and consequences. One must remain open to where the "side effects" will lead. Erudite, eloquent, and enthrallingly observant, Adam Phillips is one of the world's most respected psychoanalysts and a boldly original writer and thinker—and the ideal guide to exploring the provocative connections between psychoanalytic treatment and enduring, transformative literature. His fascinating and thoughtful Side Effects offers a valuable intellectual blueprint for the construction of a life beholden to no ideology other than the fulfillment of personal promise. Critical Acclaim: "These essays...are vintage Phillips: enlightening and intelligent; dynamic and delectably interdisciplinary." — Time Out Contents: The master-mind lectures Talking nonsense and knowing when to stop Making the case Doing it alone For the family On not making it up Time pieces The dream horizon The forgetting museum Learning to live The uses of desire Nuisance value Waiting for returns Two lectures on expectations Paranoid moderns The analyst and the bribe Two talks on needing to know when it's over About the Author: Adam Phillips is the author of eleven previous books, including Going Sane; On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored; Darwin's Worms; and Houdini's Box. He writes regularly for the New York Times, the London Review of Books, and The Observer. He is general editor of the new Penguin Modern Classics translations of Freud. He lives in London. |