Growing Up Jung: Coming Of Age As The Son Of Two Shrinks (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is the memoir of the coming of age of Micah, the son of two never-off-duty Jungian therapists. And it was an off-the-beaten-track upbringing, worth recording; his every nuanced feeling stripped down to its barest of bones, ruthlessly analysed and reconstructed with the help of mom and pop - especially mom - through an auto-focused Jungian lens. This habit of his parents proved to be catching as Micah applied the same psychic medicine to his non-filial relationships, although on less acquiescent subjects. I was interested to find out if all this analysis, introspection and self-revelation would lead Micah to a Better Place, one denied to those whose upbringings centered around other important questions such as, "What's for dinner?". But it seems as if Jung might not have all the answers. Micah and his family chalk up their fair share of divorces, the pain of them eased perhaps because they know how to pinpoint the reasons why. It's different in both its content and construction. This book is good stuff, unusual in both its content and construction. It's Jung 101, theory and applied - written in a relaxed manner with lots of self-deprecating humor and unbridled honesty. This book is a solid biography, much less about being the child of two psychologists and much more about viewing the challenges of growing up in a modern world with a questioning mind.Micah Toub's candor is touching, and his story is an interesting one that resonates well with me, even though my knowledge of Jung is infinitesimal and my psychological worldview does not match the semi-mysticism of the Jungians.
What do You think about Growing Up Jung: Coming Of Age As The Son Of Two Shrinks (2010)?
Boring (and I'm educated as a clinical therapist) got a third of the way and I just gave up.
—wallacem
