The Art of Becoming Human [Paperback]

Mary E. Mercer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

Being born is just the beginning; becoming a fully human being is not easy. It's a creative process of self-development toward which we have to work for the rest of our lives. How we live; how we think; how we react to our experiences; and who we wish to be, rather than who we are, all contribute to our humanness - or lack of it. Despite the claims of popular "how-to" guides to becoming a better person, no book holds the magic key to true humanness or real happiness. It takes a lifetime of learning. In "The Art of Becoming Human", Mary Mercer reflects with great insight and empathy on the happiness and difficulties we encounter at each stage of life, pointing out that all growth requires separation from previous attachments. As we move from infancy to old age, the pain of each separation lifts us to a higher level of awareness of ourselves. This pattern of love and separation repeats itself throughout our lives until, if we're fortunate, our desire to be loved becomes a desire to love. Dr. Mercer explains what is required for personal growth, details the aspects of life that touch us profoundly, and lays out the choices that can lead to the highest state of humanness possible. This book considers not only the common experiences of human growth from birth to old age, but also the profound influences that inborn talent, chance, necessity, and hope play in our development. Using eloquent quotations from literary classics, Dr Mercer reveals the universal self-creative pattern that lies beneath the surface of individual life.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Mercer affords an almost poetic account of an individual human's development from infancy to old age. A 20-year-old, she says, often makes the mistake of thinking that because he is a member of the human race, he is therefore a human being. The distinction between those two states of being lies at the core of Mercer's insightful description of six categories of growth. She draws on her half-century of experience as a psychiatrist to discuss the various steps and problems of each category, and she adds greater breadth to her efforts with her careful selection of passages of poetry and prose to illustrate many of the individual's stages of life. Many of her word pictures will evoke moments of recognition from readers who have been or are children, lovers, parents, or elderly--and all of whom can learn from Mercer. The path from passion to compassion is not easy, nor is it always completed, as Mercer acknowledges while she presents a perceptive overview of it. William Beatty --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Trained in internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry, MARY E. MERCER, M.D. has more than fifty years' experience as a child psychiatrist and has published numerous articles in the field of human development.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573929409
• ISBN-13: 978-1573929400
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,311,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refletcive, November 2, 2003

By 

SEW (NY, MA, Ireland.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Art of Becoming Human (Paperback)

Dr. Mercer write extraordinarily well about how we all try to answer the "big question" of why we are here though our individual evolutions. Its not a "self-help" book but a meditation based in psychiatry, pediatrics and adult medicine of the mind and the ages of man; quotes from great artists and thinkers are used as illustrations, showing us how the more eloquent among us have pondered these fundemental issues thoughout. Its so well written, and a beautifully and artfully thought-out reflection of how a person develops patterns that shape him or can be recognized where need be to reconstruct how he interprets, and so lives, his life. Really great.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cannot see the point, May 30, 2005

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S. R. F. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Becoming Human (Paperback)

I am giving this 2 stars simply because as far as writing goes, it's not bad. However, it's not bad for an undergraduate psychology student's term paper. Many of the "artistic quotes" from the likes of Goethe, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf seem to fit the author's particular point in a very contrived sort of way. Removing great pieces of literature from their original context to support her own writing does nothing to enhance either one. I found myself skipping the quotes which, I know, went against what the author wanted in the first place. Unfortunately, that leaves a very basic, intro to psychology outline of a book, and I found it very difficult to get past the first few chapters. For example, hasn't the body of psychology moved beyond the concept of "penis envy" which Mercer mentions as if it is a broadly accepted and experienced cognitive step. I gave two stars rather than one simply because I didn't finish reading it and, in fairness, perhaps there is something good contained within it that I am missing.