) at Brandeis and that he developed a deep friendship with him both in and out of the classroom. Apart from the spark of teacher-student connection, the friendship may have owed something to the fact that Albom pursued and nurtured the intimacy in the manner of the young adult whose mature psychology was taking shape and who, consequently, could have been expected to develop intimate friendship as a feature of ego satisfaction. In that regard, Berger cites research showing that "friends are even better than family members as buffers against stress, as guides to self-awareness, and as sources of positive feelings" (2001, p. 515). Albom cites the going-away briefcase he lovingly gave to his professor on graduation day and his promise to stay in touch (p. 4)--as well as the fact that he did not stay in touch (pp. 14-15), preoccupied as he was with abandoning his artistic salad days in New York City for the objective of building a career a
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