When Nietzsche Wept: A Novel of Obsession [B2178]

2005 PB printing of the 1992 original with a new afterword by the author - and with some cover wear and tanned pages (see photo). In nineteenth-century Vienna, a drama of love, fate, and will is played out amid the intellectual ferment that defined the era. Josef Breuer, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, is at the height of his career. Friedrich Nietzsche, Europe's greatest philosopher, is on the brink of suicidal despair, unable to find a cure for the headaches and other ailments that plague him. When he agrees to treat Nietzsche with his experimental "talking cure," Breuer never expects that he too will find solace in their sessions. Only through facing his own inner demons can the gifted healer begin to help his patient. In When Nietzsche Wept, Irvin Yalom blends fact and fiction, atmosphere and suspense, to unfold an unforgettable story about the redemptive power of friendship

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Fascinating novel, and one that I'm so glad I had the chance to read. Wonderful historical fiction of 'what might've truly happened' regarding the interplay of the lives of Viennese physician Josef Breuer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud & others. Such rich philosophy & conversation weaved throughout the novel, and it's one of those novels that reads like a mirror in that you can see yourself reflected through the hopes, fears and thoughts of the characters."; "I adored this book, such a nice biographic piece while being a good introduction to nihilism."; "I really liked the way in which Yallom allows the process of psychotherapy to develop before either man in the story has the vocabulary to describe what they are doing. The collision between philosophy and psychology were also incredibly interesting. And while you know Yallom is playing with history, the writing and the setting make it feel like you're actually witnessing psychology being invented in real time."