FIGHT IT OUT, WORK IT OUT, LOVE IT OUT

by Claire Pomeroy ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 24, 1977

As far as I know, [this] is the first record of a family therapy experience from the viewpoint of the woman-wife-mother who was also one of the patients."" The narrative that follows, reconstructed from Pomeroy's tapings of sessions and notes on household events, is not the Louds in print, although similarly intimate details are examined, but one family's partially successful attempt to articulate their dissatisfactions and alleviate some of the tension. Claire is a frustrated novelist, overwhelmed after fourteen years of household demands from husband Adam and six children, three from his first marriage. No one feels properly cared for, including Ma and Pa (who show signs of new consciousness and midlife crisis), but seventeen-year-old Glen, high school dropout and motorcycle freak, has become the scapegoat. In exploring his passivity and hostile silences, Claire and Adam uncover long-buried fears, angers, and resentments of their own, and therapist Peter--who functions well despite occasional ego trips--steps in and out as necessary. At last look, the family is aware of the conflicts and fighting cleanly, but Claire has refused to continue--she finds Peter put off by her written version of the sessions and sexist in his general orientation. One is left wondering about the purpose of this book. Something to do with all those notes? One woman's rebuttal? An extended encounter with the benefits and impasses of therapy, slightly skewed in perspective and strangely inconclusive.

Pub Date: June 24, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1977

Categories: NONFICTION