About this Book

Untangling: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis is a vivid chronicle of what it’s like to undergo psychoanalysis in this first ever in-depth patient's account. Joan K. Peters' riveting story of transformation lays bare psychoanalysis's inner workings which takes place behind closed doors and is rarely spoken about—in fact, which is largely unknown outside of professional circles. A polished, poetic, and often funny writer, Peters willingness to expose her own demons brings psychoanalysis to life, dramatizing both the intense strife and the love that can develop between patient and analyst. Throughout multiple relationships, the feminist revolution, the AIDS epidemic, and more, Joan's first analyst, Lane, helped Joan find herself through discovering her past; her second, relational analyst, Kristi, guided her through the frightening depths and demons of that past to a newfound contentment. Untangling documents the analysis process and astonishing revelations that lurk beneath the surface of all of our psyches.