Final Analysis
The Making and Unmaking of a Psychoanalyst
Published on 13. February 2013
240 pages
978-1-61187-516-4 (ISBN)
Description
He was the rising star of psychoanalysis ? an intimate associate of Anna Freud and Kurt Eissler, a member of the Freudian "inner circle" with unparalleled access to the Freud Archives. Then, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson risked everything by breaking the psychoanalytic community's deepest taboo: he told the truth in public.
In Final Analysis, Masson unmasks the pretensions and abuses of this elite profession, inviting readers to eavesdrop on the shockingly unorthodox analysis he endured during his own training. Witness his journey from esteemed insider to profound doubter, questioning not only the integrity of his colleagues but the very validity of their methods.
Ultimately, Masson blew the whistle, fully aware of the devastating personal and professional consequences. With wit, wonder, and unflinching candor, he brilliantly exposes the cult-like nature of psychoanalysis and recounts his own self-propelled fall from grace.
A sensation when it first appeared, Final Analysis remains a provocative and engrossing read. Written with passion and humor, this is the book that revealed a revered profession for what it truly was ? and launched Masson on his path as a crucial critic and independent thinker.
In Final Analysis, Masson unmasks the pretensions and abuses of this elite profession, inviting readers to eavesdrop on the shockingly unorthodox analysis he endured during his own training. Witness his journey from esteemed insider to profound doubter, questioning not only the integrity of his colleagues but the very validity of their methods.
Ultimately, Masson blew the whistle, fully aware of the devastating personal and professional consequences. With wit, wonder, and unflinching candor, he brilliantly exposes the cult-like nature of psychoanalysis and recounts his own self-propelled fall from grace.
A sensation when it first appeared, Final Analysis remains a provocative and engrossing read. Written with passion and humor, this is the book that revealed a revered profession for what it truly was ? and launched Masson on his path as a crucial critic and independent thinker.
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02/2024
Histria LLC
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Person
Masson has had at least four lives: first as a boy raised to become a "spiritual leader" (see his denunciation of such a life in My Father's Guru). While in the middle of his disillusion, he became a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. At the same time he trained to become a Freudian analyst. Upon graduation he became Projects Director of the Freud Archives, and was scheduled to move into Freud's house in London when fate intervened: Masson found documents which seemed to show that Freud was right in believing that many women had been sexually abused as children, and that he was wrong to give up this belief, perhaps impelled by societal displeasure at his discoveries. Saying this publicly turned Masson into a psychoanalytic pariah, and he gave up both his professorship and his analytic career to delve into the far more fascinating world of animal emotions. Two of his books, WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP and DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE, were New York Times best-sellers. He became vegetarian as a result of his research, and later, when he looked into the feelings of farm animals, he became even stricter, and no longer eats or uses any animal product (vegan). Harpercollins published his book: THE DOG WHO COULDN'T STOP LOVING: HOW DOGS HAVE CAPTURED OUR HEARTS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. He subsequently published a book about becoming vegan: THE FACE ON YOUR PLATE: THE TRUTH ABOUT FOOD. His book BEASTS: WHAT ANIMALS CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF GOOD AND EVIL is about the us/them divide. He lived on a beach in New Zealand with his two sons, Ilan and Manu, and his German wife, Leila, a pediatrician who works with children on the autistic spectrum (using the bio-medical approach), Benjy, a golden lab, and three cats for 14 years. They moved to Europe (Malaga and Berlin) and are now living in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. They often travel to the States to see their grandchild, and Europe to see Leila's family. Jeff has just signed a contract with St. Martin's to write about the death of dogs (and other animals we consider family).
