Read more
Betty Berzon, renowned psychotherapist and author of the bestselling book "Permanent Partners, tells her own incredible story here. Berzons journey from psychiatric patient on suicide watch--her wrists tethered to the bed rails in a locked hospital ward--to her present role as a groundbreaking therapist and gay pioneer makes for purely compelling reading.
Berzon is recognized today as a trailblazing co-founder of a number of important lesbian and gay organizations and one of the first therapists to focus on means of developing healthy gay relationships and overcoming homophobia. Her sometimes bumpy road to success never fails to fascinate. Along the way she encounters such luminaries as Anais Nin, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Sitwells, Evelyn Hooker, and Paul Monette. Her recollections here provide a collective portrait of her fellow pioneers and a stirring lesson in twentieth-century history.
It is, however, the intimate story of Berzons own private passage toward self-discovery--from mental breakdown and suicide attempts, through hospitalization, eventual triumphant recovery, and her own coming out as an open lesbian at the age of forty--that makes this memoir an urgent, insightful, and deeply emotional testament to human survival.
About the author
Betty Berzon has been a psychotherapist for thirty years. A member of the American Psychological Association since 1964, she is author of several popular books, including
Permanent Partners: Building Gay and Lesbian Relationships That Last and
Setting Them Straight: You Can Do Something About Bigotry and Homophobia In Your Life.
Summary
In this volume, Betty Berzon tells the story of her journey from psychiatric patient on suicide watch to her role as a therapist and gay pioneer. She discusses her mental breakdown and suicide attempts, her hospitalization and recovery, and her own coming out as a lesbian at the age of 40.
