Cry for Myth

It happens almost daily in a therapists office. A patient recalling a person an event an emotion quite unexpectedly supplies a link from a life in the present to one of the durable myths of our culture. In this moment the myth becomes a mirror revealing to the patient the source of disturbance and pain in a pattern of behavior that often stretches a year or longer. The healing process begins. The myth eternity breaking into time in Rollo Mayss words becomes the focal point of recovery.Through tracing myths – whether from classical Greece and Dantes Middle Ages European legend (Faust and the prototype of Sleeping Beauty) or contemporary American life (Jay Gatsby) -- and relating them to the dreams and associations he encounters in his own practice Dr. May provides meaning and structure for all who seek direction in a morally confusing world.In this perhaps the finest achievement of a great therapist Rollo May writes with the grace wit and style: for which he recently received the Gold Medal of the American Psychological Society.