IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

by David Brandt ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Garden-variety advice about how to avoid or deal with disappointment--padded out to book-length with syndrome-jargon, case-histories, cultural generalizations, literary allusions, and lots of repetition. Clinical psychologist Brandt identifies four types of disappointment (simple, chronic, developmental, socially induced). He notes the ""six stages of disappointment""--with unrealistic expectations as the un-surprising first step; he finds specific disappointment-syndromes related to work, relationships, sexuality, family, and the aging process. He also suggests three ""styles"" of disappointment--acquiescent, deprived, and self-important. But, despite all this pigeon-holing, the focus on disappointment per so doesn't illuminate the familiar array of problems covered here. Even weaker is Brandt's discussion of socially induced disappointment--with trite, over-simplified comments on the ""Me"" generation. (""Exaltation of the self is in the air. . . . The current ubiquity of sex has taken the very life out of it."") And his prescriptions for reducing, overcoming, and using disappointment--""Trim Down Expectations,"" ""Expect Some Disappointment""--are generally on the fortune-cookie level. Not without a core of common-sense, but blathery and. . . disappointing.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Poseidon/Pocket Books--dist. by Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION