The Incurable Romantic: And Other Tales of Madness and Desire

The author, Frank Tallis, a British psychotherapist, entered this field because he liked listening to stories. So here he relates histories of distorted love as told to him by some of his patients. One young client imagines a deep reciprocal love between herself and her dentist. This passion so possesses her that she compulsively stalks this innocent love prey. In another fascinating case, a man with an unquenchable libido loses his family’s fortune spent on the 3000 prostitutes that he needed to woo. Look at overriding jealousy, originating from basic insecurity, and watch as it destroys relationships. These cases and many more are scrutinized and compared to earlier similar descriptions found in literature, mythology, and history. Structural brain studies offer no clues, and medication attempting to balance the neurochemicals have not changed these obsessions or compulsions. There is a superficial review of past and present psychological research within these aberrant domains, but the brain and its workings still remain much of an enigma. While these cases are fascinatingly told by an empathetic professional, unfortunately, the writing lacks the mellow fluency of an Oliver Sacks. Nonetheless, these stories engage the reader to wonder at the mysteries of the mind.