Wish I Could Be There : Notes from a Phobic Life

by Shawn, Allen (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780143113072
• ISBN10: 0143113070
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-29
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

In addition to being the son of famous New Yorkereditor William Shawn and brother of the distinguished playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, Allen Shawn is agoraphobic—he is afraid of both public spaces and isolation. Wish I Could Be Theregracefully captures both of these extraordinary realities, blending memoir and scientific inquiry in an utterly engrossing quest to understand the mysteries of the human mind. Droll, probing, and honest, Shawn explores the many ways we all become who we are, whether through upbringing, genes, or our own choices, creating an eloquent meditation upon the mysteries of personality and family”* and the struggle to face one’s demons.

Author Biography

Allen Shawn, a composer and writer, has produced many orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works, as well as music for ballet, theater, and film. He has written for The Atlantic and is on the faculty at Bennington College in Vermont.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. xv
Demons on My Back	p. 1
Father	p. 26
Links in a Chain	p. 45
Contemplating the Brain	p. 54
Fear	p. 75
Childhood	p. 93
On the Road	p. 116
Conditioning	p. 136
Tigers in the Mind	p. 150
Change and Trauma	p. 176
Agoraphobia	p. 192
Alone/Not Alone	p. 223
Epilogue	p. 245
Acknowledgments	p. 253
Selected Readings	p. 255
Index	p. 261
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