Being sane has long been defined simply as that bland and nebulous state of not being mentally ill. While writings on madness fill entire libraries, until now no one has thought to engage exclusively with the idea of sanity.In a society governed by indulgence and excess, madness is the state of mind we identify with most keenly. Though ultimately destructive, it is often credited as the wellspring of genius, individuality, and self-expression. Sanity, on the other hand, confounds u...

Psychoanalysis works by attending to the patient's side effects, "what falls out of his pockets once he starts speaking." Undergoing psychoanalytic therapy is always a leap into the dark—like dedicating our hearts and intellect to a powerful work of literature, it's impossible to know beforehand its ultimate effect and consequences. One must remain open to where the "side effects" will lead.Erudite, eloquent, and enthrallingly observant, Adam Phillips is one of the world's most res...

Can rats learn to surf? How fat was the fattest cat? How many Lego bricks would it take to reach the Moon?Find out the answers to these questions and many, many more in this fascinating fact book. With clear, engaging text and vibrant illustrations, kids can discover the world's fastest, biggest, oldest, and weirdest in an accessible and engaging way. Perfect for children aged 7+.ABOUT THE SERIES: Big Ideas! is a dynamic, educational "fun f...

Here are the essential ideas of psychoanalytic theory, including Freud's explanations of such concepts as the Id, Ego and Super-Ego, the Death Instinct and Pleasure Principle, along with classic case studies like that of the Wolf Man.Adam Phillips's marvellous selection provides an ideal overview of Freud's thought in all its extraordinary ambition and variety. Psychoanalysis may be known as the 'talking cure', yet it is also and profoundly, a way of reading. Here we can see Freud'...

A habitual drifter and a college basketball star tell concurrent stories of how they are lost, alternately destroyed and hopeful, as they try to figure out what to do with themselves, what's the point of it all, and what if they never figure it out? Set in northern Idaho, the title of the book is from a James Tate poem, "Manna," which describes a moment of ineffable beauty and reassurance. In the voices and experiences of Aaron and Syd, we hear and feel something that is clearly familiar, ...

In this dazzling exploration, renowned psychoanalyst Adam Phillips delves into the universal human desire for transformation and the complexities of personal change.We live in a world that constantly invites us to change—to become our best selves through politics, fitness, diet, or therapy. As we age and face setbacks, we yearn to view our lives as narratives of positive growth and progress. In On Wanting to Change, Adam Phillips brilliantly examines the s...

A high-security luxury housing estate in the Thames Valley sees a disturbing outbreak of violence in this compelling novella, newly reissued with an introduction from Adam Phillips.Pangbourne Village is exclusive, expensive and protected from the outside world by the very latest in security systems. A seeming idyll of family life; the perfect place to bring up a child. So why, in the space of ten minutes early one morning, were the thirty-two adult residents brutally murdered, and ...

Adam Phillips, the foremost psychoanalytic writer of our time, plays with ideas about the lives we want.Where do we get ideas about the kinds of lives we want? What do we fail to do about actually getting them—and why do our ideas so often fail to satisfy us in the end?Ever curious, sympathetic, and perceptive, Adam Phillips uses both psychoanalytic and literary approaches to show that we are obsessed with the idea of our lives being ones we want and enjoy ...

If you are disturbed by the idea that to grow up is to learn to live with disillusionment, if you are fascinated by the perplexity of child-rearing, or if you fear you were more creative as a child, The Beast in the Nursery offers an illuminating and possibly life-changing experience.In four interrelated essays, Adam Phillips arrives at startling new insights into issues that preoccupied Freud, showing in the process that far from having lost its relevance, psychoanalysis is still o...

**A provocative collection of meditations on coupledom and its discontents that is "playful, brilliant ... profound ... keeps us faithful to the last page" (The New York Observer)—from the witty psychoanalyst and author of On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored.Adam Phillips manages to unsettle one of our most dearly held ideals, that of the monogamous couple, by speculating upon the impulses that most threaten it—boredom, desire, and the tempting idea tha...

Missing Out is a meditation on reality and opportunity by Adam Phillips.We all have two lives - the life we live and the life of our fantasies. But it is the life unlived - the person we have failed to be - that can trouble and even haunt us. In Missing Out acclaimed psychoanalyst Adam Phillips delves into the gap between who we are and who we are not, to discover whether not getting what we want may be the unlikely key to the fully lived life.

Adam Phillips has been called "the psychotherapist of the floating world" and "the closest thing we have to a philosopher of happiness." His style is epigrammatic; his intelligence, electric. His new book, Darwin's Worms, uses the biographical details of Darwin's and Freud's lives to examine endings-suffering, mortality, extinction, and death. Both Freud and Darwin were interested in how destruction conserves life. They took their inspiration from fossils or from half-remembered dreams. Ea...