The Schopenhauer Cure

By Irvin D. Yalom

Book Overview

From the
internationally bestselling author of Love's
Executioner and When
Nietzsche Wept, comes a
novel of group therapy with a cast of memorably wounded characters struggling
to heal pain and change lives

Suddenly confronted with his own
mortality after a routine checkup, eminent psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is
forced to reexamine his life and work -- and seeks out Philip Slate, a sex
addict whom he failed to help some twenty years earlier. Yet Philip claims to
be cured -- miraculously transformed by the pessimistic teachings of German
philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer -- and is, himself, a philosophical counselor in
training.

Philip's dour, misanthropic
stance compels Julius to invite Philip to join his intensive therapy group in
exchange for tutoring on Schopenhauer. But with mere months left, life may be
far too short to help Philip or to compete with him for the hearts and minds of
the group members. And then again, it might be just long enough.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060938102
• ISBN13: 9780060938109
• Release Date: November 2020
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Loved it

I enjoy learning about philosophy but often find it dry and depressing. Yalom's book is anything but. It was compelling reading and while I had the feeling of reading a thriller (because I couldn't put it down) I also felt I was being educated. If you enjoyed 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder you may like this book even more (more believable). I rushed out and bought 'Love's Executioner' and have almost finished it - a great read too - short stories about Yalom's real life patients (details changed to protect their identities). I am now about to go shopping for more of his books!

Counsels and Maxims

Yalom's new book, The Schopenhauer Cure, continues the themes that run through all of his writings: we witness the dynamic process of psychological growth (focusing on a group setting in this tale), we read about the fundamental existential dilemmas of life (especially our confrontation with mortality and meaning), and we participate in the age old debate about how best to experience life-either through active, passionate engagement with others or isolation, detachment, and self-torment. While all of Yalom's novels have been thoroughly interesting (especially When Nietzsche Wept), this one seems to take his fictional technique to a new level. Whatever criticism one may offer about his idea-driven tales, it is undeniable that this makes for a very good reading experience. Personally, I had trouble putting the book aside, even for sleep. I haven't experienced such momentum since reading Dan Brown's silly but engaging novel, The DaVinci Code. Why was The Schopenhauer Cure so addictive? Simple: one kept wanting to know what happens next. Two stories are told in this novel: the story of Arthur Schopenhauer's life and ideas and the story of a therapy group who are contending with the living embodiment of Schopenhauer-a life negating but brilliant sex addict by the name of Phillip Slate. Chapters are interlaced so that one gets part of the Schopenhauer story then must switch back to the group as it deals with all of its embedded issues. Yalom, a psychiatrist of great reputation, knows the reality of psychological disclosure and mixed in with all the defense mechanisms that each and every group member exercises, are moments where each is pushed to finally admit some pressing crisis or self-limiting behavior. A certain guilty pleasure is indulged when reading such a novel; we feel we are silently and invisibly watching the most personal moments of these characters' lives. Ultimately, though, the story is not about indulging in gossip or psychological mayhem, it's about facing the most difficult issues, such as death. As Yalom writes: "...[we] are victims of that freakish twist of evolution that grants self-awareness but not the requisite psychological equipment to deal with the pain of transient existence. And so throughout the years, the centuries, the millennia, we have relentlessly constructed makeshift denials of finiteness." It was such realizations that the brilliant Schopenhauer helped bring to light. His clarity of ideas and style were so riveting that the young Nietzsche became obsessed with these issues. Faced with our mortality and with the dark crises of existence, Schopenhauer preached detachment, isolation, and a contempt for the whole process of being born as a `biped' (his term). Nietzsche, recognizing the choice inherent in facing these same issues, preached the very opposite: a celebration of existence and an affirmation of the whole process; a love of fate. But rather than put forth empty philosophical maxims,

"Nothing human is alien to me."

Irving Yalom's marvelous new novel, "The Schopenhauer Cure," is a wide-ranging and exhilarating exploration of psychotherapy, philosophy, and humanity. Julius Hertzfeld is a respected therapist who learns that his days may be numbered. Rather than retreat from life to lick his wounds and contemplate all that he must leave behind, Julius is determined to spend his remaining time continuing his psychotherapeutic work. He decides to look up Philip Slate, a former patient whom he once treated for severe sex addiction. Philip, one of Dr. Hertzfeld's most egregious failures, quit after three years of what he considered to be futile treatment. Julius invites Philip, who now aspires to be a licensed counselor himself, to join his therapy group. Philip agrees and he brings some heavy baggage with him. "The Schopenhauer Cure" goes in several directions, but they all merge into a seamless whole. Yalom invites the reader into the tumultuous world of Julius's group therapy sessions, and he delves a bit into the private lives of each member of Julius's group. Pam is a college professor who has failed both in her marriage and in her adulterous relationship. Rebecca has relied too much on her physical beauty, and as she ages, she must face the fact that her looks are slowly fading. Tony is a carpenter whose rough exterior and lack of formal education hide an innate intelligence. These and other members of the therapy group are thrown off stride by the shocking news of Julius's illness and by Philip's icy demeanor. To make matters even more complicated and interesting, Philip claims that he cured himself of his sex addiction by modeling his life after the great German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer. In a series of fascinating and informative chapters, Yalom traces the life and work of Arthur Schopenhauer, a brilliant but dour misanthrope whose seminal writings influenced Freud, Nietzche, and Sartre, among others. Yalom brings Schopenhauer to life and the chapters dealing with this prickly genius provide a fascinating counterpoint to the conflicts and revelations that permeate the rest of the book. This story of people stripping away their defenses and baring their souls to one another gives valuable insight into the therapeutic process. Yalom's writing is witty, highly intelligent, and imbued with compassion. There are many touching passages and one, in particular, left me profoundly moved. If you enjoy a writer who embraces both the cerebral and the emotional aspects of life, but who is also tremendously entertaining, read this terrific novel.

Irvin D. Yalom. The Schopenhauer Cure. HarperCollins

Our esteemed world guru Yalom, the author of "Lying on the Couch", "When Nietzsche Wept", and many other contributions, has done it again - offering us a fascinating novel about the socalled Schopenhauer Cure. Ingeniously he weaves together the biography of the philosopher Schopenhauer and a dynamic group therapy process with 8 patients and the leader, dr. Julius Hertzfeld. The trigger to expand this group was that the doctor himself received a diagnosis of malignant melanoma, with a prognosis of one year's reasonably good health. In order to invest this year with meaning he reconnected with an old patient failure, Philip, whom he treated 23 years ago. The doctor did not succeed in helping him control a pattern of an endless series of seductions of women. To his amazement this patient had eventually learned to overcome his sexual compulsiveness by becoming a dedicated philosopher and teacher. In addition, Philip was training himself to become a psychotherapist, and for that purpose he needed 2 years of supervision by dr. Hertzfeld to be certified. The doctor felt that Philip essentially was unfit to practise psychotherapy, because he refused to enter into normal social relationships, being as arrogant and selfabsorbed as he ever was. Hoping to help Philip with this I-Thou problem he invited him to join his ongoing therapy group for a year. In return Philip offered to teach the doctor and his patients the Schopenhauer cure. The essence of this cure could be summarized as follows: Decide through denial that you should never again enter into meaningful relations with others. Such an extreme dependence upon other people is exactly what makes us so vulnerable. You should develop an inner strength of self sufficiency and autonomy. At the deepest level it is necessary to get rid of the wanting of your sexuality and the will to live, through asceticism. Schopenhauer's predicament was that his father committed suicide, and he was alienated from his mother most of his grownup life. During the exciting group process Philip acted out his new lonesome strategy of life, inspired by Schopenhauer, by such techniques as teaching, never offering eye contact, never getting into affective interaction with the other members. This approach worked rather well within the framework of dr. Hertzfeld's characteristic interpersonal group therapy until Pam, an old group member, returned from her retreat to a famous holy man in India. She surprisingly happened to be one of the countless women Philip seduced many years ago, and she hated him bitterly for the negative impact that experience had had upon her life. Philip now simply had to confront his shameful past with Pam herself and the other members of the group, thus meeting the requirement of dr. Hertzfeld af accepting himself as a truly social being. What a reading delight and learning experience this novel was, so captivating, engaging, and full of wisdom. In my opinion, as a lifelong practicio

A Book That Matters

Yalom writes about things that matter. Anyone who practices therapy (or not), individual or group, - on either side of the couch - must read Yalom. The Schopenhauer Cure takes us on a journey from disconnection to connection, a matter of life and death. Death turns our awareness to life: we connect "through the commonality of our suffering..." (p. 323). Not only is Yalom a great novelist, but also a brilliant therapist. His earlier work touches on the essence of human nature. It is hard to believe that a single writer can get down to the core of so many vital issues. He began his work with a textbook -The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy (1970), and writing novels in 1991 - coming full circle from a text on the subject of group therapy to a novel about it. If I would have only discovered Yalom 35 years ago I would be much further along. But then the readiness is all - and I am now ready. After his diagnosis of malignant cancer and having only a year of life left, psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld looks up Phillip - a patient from the past who he felt had failed in treatment years earlier. Julius invites him into his group on a deal - the group in exchange for supervision. In some odd way I love Phillip - a Schopenhauer scholar whose life parallels the philosopher's and whose philosophy is woven throughout the novel - men who could not bond with others. In The Schopenhauer Cure I watch Phillip unfold. Philosophy, endings/beginnings, connections/disconnections, life/death, and suffering are woven throughout. The Schopenhauer Cure is a message in living life to the fullest - even in the face of imminent death. Although Julius has cancer, he continues to live to do what he loves most - group therapy. Death takes care of itself - our job is to live; but "to learn to live well, one must first learn to die well." (p. 69). Yalom's novel depicts group therapy at its finest. If there is one message that Yalom cries over the roof tops, it is this: "It's not ideas, nor vision, nor tools that truly matter in therapy.... - it's always the relationship." (p. 62). Yalom gets into the hearts of the participants as well as the therapist - and the thoughts that pass through their minds. Julius learns along with the group members - they are traveling the path together, and I with them. It is a journey through the emotional-relational world of the characters that Yalom so realistically creates -it is a real world. I wait for The Schopenhauer Cure to appear as a screenplay. But all things must come to an end - even this novel. That's the nature of life. I don't want the group to end, for Julius Hertzfeld to end, for the novel to end. I read more slowly to keep them with me longer - Julius, Phillip, Tony, Pam and the others. They talk about things that matter - relationships, emotions, and together we move through broken pasts, ultimately arriving at connection. Yalom is up there with Nietzsche. He is bold enough to face th