Nine Lives: Nine Case Histories Reflecting the Human Condition by Newell Fischer

“In Nine Lives Newell Fischer takes us inside his office to witness and understand the complex, moving, and healing work of psychoanalysis. A valuable read for anyone who has experienced suffering and wants to actually see how understanding your inner world brings relief. You will be drawn in, touched, amazed, and perhaps most importantly, learn a lot about yourself.”
—GAIL SALTZ, M.D. Psychoanalyst, Author of Becoming Real: Defeating the Stories We Tell Ourselves That Hold Us Back and Today Show Mental Health contributor

“This moving and illuminating new book arrives at an auspicious moment. We live in an era where instant gratification rules. We text, tweet, and Google without a moment’s reflection. Newell Fischer’s collection of nine narratives of psychoanalytically oriented treatment beautifully conveys the music and the lyrics of psychoanalytic therapy—the complex, methodical, conflictual, and often painful, process of listening and understanding another human being. These compelling
stories illustrate that there is no quick fix for the human condition, and each person deserves the opportunity to be known and understood.”
—GLEN O. GABBARD, M.D., Author of Love. and Hate in the Analytic Setting

“In a straightforward and ‘user-friendly’manner, Newell Fischer describes his clinical work with nine anguished individuals. Assiduously avoiding jargon hut never missing a beat when it comes to devotion to his patients, Fischer displays an unshakeable striving to acquire a deep understanding of what underlies emotional problems. Lay er by layer, he unmasks the mysteries that—out of the patients’ conscious awareness—cause mental suffering. Nuanced, averse to simplification, technically virtuous, and utterly humane, this book by an experienced therapist and teacher offers us a rare glimpse of what goes on behind the closed doors of a master clinician. It will go a long way in dispelling the cynicism that has recently corroded the faith in the power of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.”
—SALMAN AKHTAR, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia Newell Fischer, M.D.