#1 - STARING AT THE SUN: OVERCOMING THE TERROR OF DEATH by Irvin D Yalom

Number of Book #1
Date Began and Finished 12/29 - 1/2 2008
Genre - Non Fiction/ Psychology
Year It Was Published - February 2008
Publisher - Jossey-Bass
number of Pages 277
Advanced copy trade paperback
Reason for reading: Review for VINES Amazon program
Rating 4/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: Having been told I have anxiety and learning that this equated to a fear of death, I jumped at the opportunity to read STARING AT THE SUN when it was offered to me by Vines Amazon. This is my first book by Irvin D Yalom,and i was very impressed with the contents and writing style of a topic that can be pretty heavy duty.

Yalom discusses anxiety and the fear of death by throwing in examples from the patients he's known, each of them having diverse symptoms and traits, but all of them having a fear of death. a lot of what he went over I already knew from therapy, and it was good to see it all in print. he also talks of methods to use to help overcome this fear, helping many of us to cope with daily anxiety and learn to relax and live life as if THERE IS A TOMORROW. Case studies include a woman who fears death by stating that she had so many things to do before she died. It's a classic case, in which I can relate to,where we simply cannot relax until our ever growing to-do lists are completed. It's the unlived life that many fear, the fear of not accomplishing everything one had meant to do throughout a life time, but for some they feel this life may end too soon, thus the anxiety to finish things asap, before it's too late.

Others begin to have anxiety after the death of someone close, possibly a husband or a close friend. often times any life changing event can set anxiety off. in each case, Yalom gives explicit details of a particular patient, using a very reader-friendly voice that anyone will feel comfortable in reading.

The only chapter that i felt was as reader-friendly was the last, in which he warns the reader that this particular chapter is aimed at therapists. it is still helpful to read this last chapter, but i felt my eyes glazing over at times, as it was a little too technical for me.

I found STARING AT THE SUN a fascinating and informative book regarding anxiety and the fear of death. while I may have a long way to go in conquering my own fears, I feel that this book was helpful enough in that it confirmed a lot of what I've learned about anxiety over the past 9 months or so. I definitely recommend STARING AT THE SUN.