Untangling

A powerful testimonial for confronting rather than running from the past, however painful.' Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful MindIn this much-anticipated memoir, English professor Joan Peters focuses on her experience in psychoanalysis at two different points in her life, comparing two different theoretical and technical analytic views, from the vantage point of her experience as a patient. With the drama of a novel, Untangling: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis tells the story of a turbulent and transformative psychoanalysis in this first ever in-depth patients account. Joan K. Peters's story lays bare the inner workings of this complex treatment, which takes place behind closed doors, is rarely spoken about, and is largely unknown outside of professional circles. A polished, poetic, and often funny writer, Peterss willingness to expose her own demons brings psychoanalysis to life, from the intense strife to the fierce love that can develop between patient and analyst. Joan's first analyst, Lane, helped Joan alleviate tormenting and recurring nightmares and to find herself by discovering her family's secret past. Her second analyst, Kristi, guided her through the frightening depths of that past to a yearned-for freedom. In another first, Kristi writes an afterword about the challenge of analyzing Peters. Unique in its reach, Untangling reveals the mysteries that lurk beneath the surface of our psyches.