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A Life of One's Own [Paperback]

Joanna Field (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Kindle Edition $9.99  
Hardcover $60.00  
Paperback $16.19  
Paperback, November 1, 1981 --  
Mass Market Paperback --  
Unknown Binding --  

Book Description

0874771935 978-0874771930 November 1, 1981

How often do we ask ourselves, ‘What will make me happy? What do I really want from life?’ In A Life of One’s Own Marion Milner explores these questions and embarks on a seven year personal journey to discover what it is that makes her happy.

On its first publication, W.H. Auden found the book ‘as exciting as a detective story’ and, as Milner searches out clues, the reader quickly becomes involved in the chase. Using her own personal diaries, kept over many years, she analyses moments of everyday life and discovers ways of being, of looking, of moving, that bring surprising joy – ways which can be embraced by anyone.

With a new introduction by Rachel Bowlby this classic remains a great adventure in thinking and living and will be essential reading for all those interested in reflecting on the nature of their own happiness – whether readers from a literary, an artistic, a historical, an educational or a psychoanalytic/psychotherapeutic background.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

This book was first published back in 1934, when the author (trained as a pyschoanalyst) decided to work out what she really wanted from life. The answer to that is one everybody would like to know. Various methods are explored: keeping a diary; free-association drawing and writing; learning when to stand back and when to go all out for something; and trusting your instincts rather than intellectualizing. The constant analysis does not make for an easy read, but it is worth persevering with this book if it can encourage us to keep trying to make the most of our lives. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Marion Milner (1900-1998) was a distinguished British psychoanalyst, educationalist, autobiographer and artist.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 226 pages
  • Publisher: Tarcher (November 1, 1981)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0874771935
  • ISBN-13: 978-0874771930
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey through thought, December 22, 2003
By 
Quotidian "quotidian" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Life of One's Own (Paperback)
What really makes you happy? This question set Marion Milner, writing under the pseudonym Joanna Field, on an inward journey of discovery through the subtle and fleeting processes of perception, thought and emotion over seven years. In this book, she writes a kind of diary summary, in the simplest and most human terms, of her psychological detective work. The result is intriguing, beautiful, energising and profound.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars great, October 23, 2008
By 
This review is from: A Life of One's Own (Paperback)
Joanna Field is nom de plume of the well known British psychoanalyst Marion Milner. In this "psychological memoire" she reveals a 20-something woman living a somewhat charmed bohemian life of the early 1930-ies - travels across Yorkshire, Tuscany and Virginia/Massachusetts are superimposed on adventures and explorations of inner landscapes composed of dreams, memories, reflections ...and the unknown. The book, written in the form of a diary, is an excellent guide for anyone about to embark on the rewarding, if treacherous, journey of self discovery.

Milner figured out, pretty much by herself, key elements of what these days passes as somatic psychotherapy. The art of listening to the body, to fears hiding in misty waters of the unconscious, and of opening to the delight that descends when we, often unsuspectingly and all too fleetingly, are graced by the authentic experience of living, are described in fascinating detail.

How does one maintain authenticity when being with other people, what makes us happy, what brings us the sense of direction, how to observe thoughts, emotions and gestures, how to navigate the madscape of mental activity, how "facts" distill themselves out of the boundless background of the unknown, that immense kaleidoscope that keeps changing with our motives- in other words, what IS perception and what awareness... this book lays it all out in a human, so human and irresistible way. After the first chapter I felt an immediate kinship, affection and respect for this woman who died a long time ago, yet left us with this scintilla of honesty and insight. Highly recommended.
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42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful journey of self-discovery, July 8, 1999
This review is from: A Life of One's Own (Paperback)
This is a remarkable and inspiring book. This book is beautifully written, and would be useful for somebody who, like the author, is on a journey of self-discovery.
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