Robin Richmond

Many trees have been felled to create scholarly books about the intricacies of human psychology and sadly books about bereavement line our shelves too, but it’s rare indeed to find a book about both. This brave and often painful account of the authors tragic experience of losing her beloved spouse and the years of therapy - both successful and unsuccessful- that followed this loss is both welcome and helpful. It’s a million miles away from being a “self help” book, and is gripping, readable and jargon- free. The author is an established and reputable psychologist but she is unafraid to cast a withering eye on her own discipline. At the same time she is fearlessly honest and self revelatory. As she says” unfortunately accounts of therapy by patients are relatively rare”, so this book, albeit conceived and written in immense sadness, adds to our understanding both of therapy and bereavement itself and enriches our understanding of our own fragility. We love, we lose, we survive.