Suicide and the Soul (Dunquin) [Paperback]

James Hillman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dunquin | Publication Date: June 1985

With this book James Hillman initiated the "soul movement" in psychotherapy forty years ago.

Soul and suicide are dominant issues of this new millenium; soul because it cannot be reduced to genes and chromosomes; suicide because it raises fundamental religious, political, and legal conflicts. As Hillman writes in the postscript to the second edition: "The individual consists of more than his or her personal individuality. Something besides 'myself' inhabits the soul, takes part in its life and has a say in its death . . . We need a . . . definition of self as the interiorization of community. Suicide, literally 'self-killing,' now would mean both a killing of community and involvement of community in the killing."

This new edition is introduced by the eminent psychiatrist and pioneering social critic, Thomas Szasz.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The pioneering imaginative psychology of James Hillman that soon will span five decades has entered cultural history, affecting lives and minds in a wide range of fields. For the creativity of his thinking, the originator of Archetypal Psychology and author of A Terrible Love of War; The Soul’s Code; and The Force of Character has received many honors, including the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic. He has held distinguished lectureships at Yale, Princeton, Chicago, and Syracuse Universities, and his books have been translated into some twenty languages. The American public showed its appreciation of his approach to psychology by placing his book, The Soul’s Code, at the top of the bestseller list of serious works of nonfiction.  Of his many books, Spring

Publications has published Anima, Loose Ends, Archetypal Psychology:

A Brief Account, Pan and the Nightmare, Suicide and the Soul,

Insearch, Oedipus Variations (with Karl Kerényi), The Thought of the

Heart and the Soul of the World, Inter Views, and Lectures on Jung’s

Typology (with Marie-Louise von Franz). He lives in Connecticut.

> --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Spring Pubns; First Edition edition (June 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882142089
• ISBN-13: 978-0882142081
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 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: #2,377,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Nothing Makes Sense, April 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Suicide and the Soul (Dunquin) (Paperback)

If someone close to you has taken their life, you need to read this book. There are no cliches here. No pap. This is an in- depth report, based on years of study and experience in the field, on the clinical route that ends in suicide and why your intervention may not have made a difference.

Dr. Hillman shows us the path the soul took to the brink and explains why they could not turn back...unless they stood at the edge and chose to turn away.

I have read many books that sought to confort the bereaved. This book allows us, as the tormented survivors, a smidgeon of insight. The kind of insight that makes some sense of the senseless act. I don't know Dr. Hillman, although I certainly read some of his other work after reading this book; but I owe him a dept. This book is a gift. I hope you find it as remarkable as I did.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound and insightful, February 24, 2010

By 

Kathryn Barton - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suicide and the Soul (Dunquin) (Paperback)

This is the most influential book I have read regarding clinical practice. After reading it, I was in awe of how anyone can think let alone write so profoundly. It is not just about suicide, but speaks of how experience and developmental transitions shape our existence. Although breathtakingly compassionate and sophisticated regarding the joys and pains of living, I didn't find the content at all sentimental. This book is highly absorbing, frequently moving and extremely original in its perspective on various concepts. Ideas are introduced well, with examples that make it accessible to anyone regardless of their professional or personal reasons for reading "Suicide and the Soul". It can be a challenge in terms of the concepts, beliefs and emotions related to the material as would be expected. I am astounded at the age of this book; given how contemporary its viewpoints are on the matter. There is just as much value in this book to learn more about living and life, as death and suicide. Obviously, I would recommend reading the book.....at least once.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Iconic, November 3, 2010

By 

Mary B (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suicide and the Soul (Dunquin) (Paperback)

Hillman delivers - and like many Jungian writers, he wanders all of soul's territory and Jung's theories. It's provocative and insightful.