"In this profound, novel, and moving account of the role of creativity in healing trauma—that is, in the very process of developing her ideas—Sophia Richman offers us a living example of being "mended by the muse." But that is the least of what we learn here. We readers, too, have suffered trauma and dissociation. If we allow ourselves to dwell in Richman’s sense of what creative action can do, we too are mended in reading these pages, and we emerge from them better able than we were before to mend ourselves, and to assist in the mending of others. A stirring and beautiful book."- Donnel Stern, Ph.D.
"With this extraordinary book Dr. Richman not only offers a contemporary theoretical explanation of creativity but she also takes the reader into the minds of artists as they experience this enlivening and restorative process. The emphasis on experience makes the book invaluable for clinicians whose work is guided by recognizing the healing power residing in interacting subjectivities. With its breadth and depth, the book is also highly recommended to those who wish to embark on a most satisfying journey that penetrates the mystery of creativity." - Anna Ornstein, M.D. Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati; Lecturer in Psychiatry Harvard Medical School
"The relationship between creativity and mental illness has been one of the most debated issues in psychology. In this heavily researched volume, Sophia Richman reviews the insights psychoanalysis has contributed to this issue, through the lens of the tragic turmoils of the last century and of her personal experience. In the process, she convincingly argues that as the pearl that forms inside the oyster's shell to protect it from abrasive sand, creativity is formed to protect us from otherwise intolerable aspects of life." – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management, Claremont Graduate University, CA, USA
"In this profound, novel, and moving account of the role of creativity in healing trauma—that is, in the very process of developing her ideas—Sophia Richman offers us a living example of being "mended by the muse." But that is the least of what we learn here. We readers, too, have suffered trauma and dissociation. If we allow ourselves to dwell in Richman’s sense of what creative action can do, we too are mended in reading these pages, and we emerge from them better able than we were before to mend ourselves, and to assist in the mending of others. A stirring and beautiful book."- Donnel Stern, Ph.D.
"With this extraordinary book Dr. Richman not only offers a contemporary theoretical explanation of creativity but she also takes the reader into the minds of artists as they experience this enlivening and restorative process. The emphasis on experience makes the book invaluable for clinicians whose work is guided by recognizing the healing power residing in interacting subjectivities. With its breadth and depth, the book is also highly recommended to those who wish to embark on a most satisfying journey that penetrates the mystery of creativity." - Anna Ornstein, M.D. Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati; Lecturer in Psychiatry Harvard Medical School
"The relationship between creativity and mental illness has been one of the most debated issues in psychology. In this heavily researched volume, Sophia Richman reviews the insights psychoanalysis has contributed to this issue, through the lens of the tragic turmoils of the last century and of her personal experience. In the process, she convincingly argues that as the pearl that forms inside the oyster's shell to protect it from abrasive sand, creativity is formed to protect us from otherwise intolerable aspects of life." – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management, Claremont Graduate University, CA, USA
