This Too Shall Pass: Stories of Change, Crisis and Hopeful Beginnings
JULIA SAMUEL
(Penguin Life, 352 PP, £14.99)
Tablet bookshop price £13.49 • Tel 020 7799 4064

From wedding photos on Facebook to TV ads for cruises, we all collude in the myth that life runs smoothly towards the sunlit uplands. In fact, as leading psychotherapist Julia Samuel reminds us, most lives are rocky, with plenty of left turns and unexpected reversals. In almost all her clients, she observes a difficulty adapting to these changes. Hence this book, filled with case studies of individual patients who are all grappling with transformation in different guises. She guides us through five key areas – family relationships, love, work, health and identity – teasing out the roots of each problem; helping patients face them full on.

Samuel’s previous book, Grief Works, was acclaimed for its analysis of bereavement and loss, and here too her focus is on unpicking complex emotions and trying to get patients to understand their motivations and cope with transformation in their lives. Samuel works in both the NHS and private practice, and says, “as human beings we have a natural resistance to change. Our systems are wired to maintain our habits and seek regularity.” Yet we are sabotaged by choice. Should Isabel leave her destructive lover, and why does she keep going back to him? How should Heinrich cope with the lack of identity that follows retirement? How should Ayesha manage a cocaine addiction and menopause?