On the Couch

Reviews / Votes

"Touching. . . . Powerful. . . . Lovely. . . . The contributors to On the Couch write in the hope of resuscitating not so much Freudianism as Sigmund Freud the man."---Joseph Epstein, Wall Street Journal "Entertainingly diverse. Surprises - like Freudian slips - are everywhere."---Ron Charles, Washington Post "[A] lively volume. . . . Taking tacks both personal and psycholanalytical, these essays paint a fresh, full picture of Freud's life, work, and indelible cultural impact." * The Millions * "A collection of authors' fascinating thoughts on Freud."---Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub "At a time when Freud is so easily written off as 'an anachronism or a punch line,' when 'his story is one that many people think they know,' [On the Couch] pushes against the myth of that single, already-familiar story by offering unique lines of reasoning and association about a vast array of issues related to him. . . . A solid collage of voices to complicate our picture of psychoanalysis.

" * Kirkus Reviews * "Rich. . . . This live-ly col-lec-tion of essays con-firms Freud's con-tin-ued importance."---Donald Weber, Jewish Book Council "Andrew Blauner's On The Couch has brought together a fine number of writers; each one bringing their personal stories to elevate their academic writing and provide a new perspective." * Redbrick Culture * "A lovely grab bag of essays, with meditations on Freud's dogs, terrifying glimpses into trauma. . . and analysands and analysts meditating on the value or otherwise of what they did inside the secular confessional."---Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian "Splendid."---Martin Chilton, The Independent "This volume varies as much as the writers themselves . . . . What makes them cohere is the authors' inability to escape Freud's influence."---Chase Padusniak, Commonweal "[T]here is much here to intrigue and provoke. . . . The best essays come from those writers who seem intuitively to sense what it is they can bring to the reading of Freud as writers."---Josh Cohen, Times Literary Supplement "Eighty-five years after his death, is there anything left to say about Freud? Andrew Blauner's fine collection On the Couch answers an emphatic yes. A dream-team of leading writers consider subjects ranging from Freud's first scientific paper (on eel testicles) to the shadowy figure of his wife Martha, and his love of dogs. The book offers lucid, deeply personal reflections on the complicated legacies of psychoanalysis."---Nick Haslam, The Conversation "This volume is a reminder of the enormous cultural influence of Sigmund Freud, analysing the great analyst to reflect on who he was, why he did what he did, and the impact he made."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer "[With an] excellent selection of contributors. . . . [On the Couch] stimulates the effort to define, explicate, and celebrate our ambivalence toward Freud."---Elliot Jurist, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association "A stimulating collection."---Martin Chilton, The Independent