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Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise

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TALES OF PSYCHOLOGY: Stories to Make You Wise is an idiosyncratic anthology of complex literary fragments about our darker emotions. Some authors allow for redemption, others do not. Dr. Bond's observations & comments offer us glimpses of both the history of psychology, & aspects of the stories we might not have noticed.

An interesting collection of thoughts.

This book is one of fascination and imagery borne of creative minds. It takes the reader into the world of psychology in a way that both educates and entertains. Doctor Alma Halbert Bond Ph.D. has gathered a collection of short stories that show an excellent insight into the workings of the human psyche.

All of the stories contained in the book are well crafted by writers in touch with the inner emotions of people. Middle years, by Henry James, was like seeing a picture of a person's soul portrayed in words. It reflected exactly what most of us who have experienced the mid-life crisis went through.

To read the book is to take a tour of a psychological gallery, with Doctor Bond orchestrating what the reader will see next. Her choice of stories brings forth images too powerful to ignore. Primeval urges that shake the reader from their normal state, taking them on a journey to a world hidden deep within their consciousness.

Some of the tales take one out of one's comfort zone bringing forth long forgotten demons. Just as though one was experiencing an exorcism. They do not generate fear, panic or depression, but calmly show us how we function as a person.

There are two themes that run through the stories in this book. They are those that deal with death and madness. Death is a fate none of us can escape. It is the final act for us here on earth. Some choose to bring death on to escape their misery. Others prefer to wait until natural causes take their toll. How one deals with it depends on one's belief system and state of mind when the time comes.

Madness is a battle between fiction and reality. Psychology is a means of getting to understand this affliction and to help the victim of it to cope. Yet this path from darkness to light is not perfect and cannot always produce what is desired.

"My apology" by Woody Allen, and "In the Region of Ice" by Joyce Carol are two insightful pieces about death and madness. They reflect the craft of writing at its very best. They stand as a credit to their authors.

Doctor Alma Halbert Bond Ph.D. has shown us works worthy of the accolade, brilliant. Her explanations at the end of each story leave the reader in no doubt as to what the author had in mind.

This book will indeed provide many hours of reading pleasure.

Alma Bond has taken the opportunity to combine some excellent short stories with her expertise in comprehending human behavior to both entertain and delight the reader. Each of her reprinted stories has a lesson, or special matter of understanding within its pages that she feels worthy of sharing with us. With her guidance at the end of each one we may gain some better understanding of ourselves or someone around us. A perfect example of this is in Conrad Aiken's Silent Snow, Secret Snow which deals with a twelve year old boy and the beginning of mental illness that goes undiagnosed even though his parents know something isn't right. There is a great lesson in this story. Bond is to be commended for this work. Excellent reading.

Painstakingly compiled by psychoanalyst Alma H. Bond (who was in private practice for 37 years), Tales Of Psychology: Short Stories To Make You Wise is an impressive anthology of short stories which were specifically crafted by their authors to provide meaningful insights into the nature and workings of the human mind. Ranging from Raymond Carver's "A Small, Good Thing", to Woody Allen's "My Apology", nineteen intellectually and literarily gifted authors proffer their short story revelations into the human psyche in a compelling, highly readable, enthusiastically recommended collection.

"Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise" is an exceptional book. A happy marriage of psychology and literture. "Tales of Psychology" bring life to literature and literature to life. She has chosen powerful stories that speak to all of us about all of us; she draws upon her considerable professional, literary, and scholarly life's achievement to enrich us with deeper knowledge of our psychology and greater respect for our literature. - Dr. Mary-Alice Herbert, Professor of English, editor, publisher, poet and playwright.

I was disappointed that there was barely a page and a half of comments by the book's author, and much of that included summaries and/or quotes from the story. Two of the three did add some insight to understanding the story. One interpretation was not in sinc with the Psych Manual of Mental Disorders, nor with two psychologists/psychiatrists I consulted. But I may have a better opinion when I've finished reading the book.

Tales of Psychology is both a self-help instructional manual and a fine collection of literature offered by highly regarded authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, John Cheever, Anne Tyler and Woody Allen. Dr. Alma Halbert Bond lends insights gained through her 35-year career as a psychoanalyst, analyzing each story as if its protagonist were prone upon her office chaise, introducing readers to classic dynamics of Oedipal complexes, depression, death and grief.

Dr. Bond's comments following each story don't attempt to resolve the dilemmas presented, only to help readers recognize the psychological indicators and implications. The stories themselves, culled from a lifetime of personal and professional study, present compelling struggles of life. Ranging from emotional insecurities to alcoholism to parenting to suicide, each delves into a different theme threading through the path of survival. Some are even horrific, like, "A Distant Episode," by Paul Bowles, which tells of a man's struggle to cope with physical attack and confinement through distancing and repression. But eventually the pain of his reality breaks through his mental barrier, as it must always, in some way.

In analyzing these hand-picked favorite tales, Dr. Bond gives of herself in unexpected ways. In her summation of the first story, "A Small, Good Thing," by Raymond Carver, she writes, "The end of the story made me break down and sob," revealing that even the psychoanalyst is also a human, feeling person. It seems rare for an analyst to shed the professional shield and admit to her own wrenching emotional reaction.

"In a Region of Ice" is Joyce Carol Oates tragedy of unreleased emotional love, Anne Tyler's "Teenage Wasteland" gives a glimpse into the heavy responsibilities of parenting that extend far beyond shelter, food, clothing and education to include the more important intangible qualities of caring and understanding. Dr. Bond says she's certain many lives have been saved when suicidal patients were instructed to read "Paul's Case," by Willa Cather. It is a tale of a young man's dreams of a grand life being dashed by his reality, plunging him into an unforgiving escape. But just as his body falls through the night and into the path of an oncoming train, he realizes all that he has robbed himself of, suddenly remembering the beauty of a sea he'll never see.

In the end, Dr. Bond reveals her own concern with death, and how her quest for understanding has led past the existentialists, to the philosopher Seneca and finally, surprisingly, to Woody Allen, whose wit confirms her greatest fear - that death is an unspeakable horror. In his quick story "My Apology," Allen concedes a fear of unknown horror when contemplating death.

Perhaps the wisdom promised is the knowledge that ultimately there are no right ways of thinking and behaving, and no definitive precedent or authority on such matters. Life presents a complex buffet of experiences and means of coping with its challenges. Unraveling its mysteries is a personal quest for each individual to undertake. Learning from one another's experiences with the helpful perspective of a professional will help readers navigate their own paths more successfully. Learning with Dr. Bond is a pleasure.