The Agony Of It All - Hardcover

Joy Davidson, Ph.D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874774454 ISBN 13: 9780874774450

Publisher: TarcherPerigee, 1988

Synopsis

A practicing psychologist and columnist discusses the diverse ways in which women attempt to satisfy a need for excitement and drama, their self-defeating impact, and how to direct such drives into life-enhancing activities

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The author, a California psychotherapist, here identifies three types of female drama seekers, all of whom have high sensation-seeking needs: the fighter, who whips up "episodes" by causing conflict; the challenger, who is stimulated by striving against steep or inappropriate competition (as the so-called other woman, or by aiming for other long-shot goals); and the rebel, whose "bad girl" behavior and risk-taking may take the form of shoplifting, gambling or other harmful behavior. Through therapy-session scenarios, Davidson shows ways that the basic drive for sensation is often thwarted for women in life situations; men, she observes, are granted more opportunities to express aggression and to seek adventure in careers and leisure pastimes. As an example, she offers the model of Lucy Ricardo's husband-defying antics in I Love Lucy to demonstrate that a woman's power can go underground and reemerge as "melodramatic" behavior. The book starts out as catchy and flamboyant, but the soap-opera imagery and bold strokes make their points: the guide builds persuasively through an illuminating description of a many-sided problem and toward a six-point program that can provide a handle for positive personal change. 75,000 first printing.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: TarcherPerigee
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0874774454
• ISBN 13: 9780874774450
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270