iences what Yalom refers to as "existence pain." (4) Many pursuits ranging from: group exercises to deep reflection; works of art to theological explorations; personal crises to personal losses are constant reminders that an individual's deepest desires can never be fulfilled. These deep yearnings are: the desire for youth, for creative immortality and a halt to physical aging, for the return of the departed, for eternal love, for protection, and for significance and meaning (pp. 3-4).
Desire for meaning and structure forms the bedrock of human existence, yet often such desire rests on the plate tectonics of anxiety. Through ten engagingly complex case studies of individual patients, Dr. Yalom explores this anxiety, as well as the therapist-client relationship and pertaining theoretical principles. In addressing these issues, the chapter entitled "Fat Lady" is of particular interest.
In laying the groundwork for each case, Dr. Yalom asserts that four givens form the basis of psychotherapy: the inevitability of death for the individual and for those the individual loves; the freedom to determine life as the individual chooses it; ultimate alienation and aloneness; and the lack of overt meaning or purpose to life. Such realities may seem grim at first, but the possibilities for redemption are contained within (pp. 4-5).
In the face of death, it is still poss
...