S. Akhtar and H. Parens (eds): Lying, Cheating and Carrying On: Developmental, Clinical, and Sociocultural Aspects of Dishonesty and Deceit

The title, ‘‘Lying, Cheating, and Carrying On’’ quickly draws one into this fascinating book on lying within the clinical setting. The book presents an enjoyable and clinically inspiring discussion of lying in all its forms. This volume is the latest in a series of publications that is based on panel discussions at the Annual Margaret Mahler Symposia held each year in Philadelphia since 1991. The 2009 Symposium resulted in this monograph edited by Salman Akhtar and Henri Parens. The book includes chapters on the developmental, clinical and cultural aspects of lying by a range of important clinicians, including Lucy Lafarge, Harold Blum, and Daniel Freeman. Opening with an overview chapter on lying, Salman Akhtar presents the issues of lies, liars and lying as well as keeping secrets. He also discusses psychodynamic issues that provide the drive for lying. In an engaging discussion, he describes types of lies, such as social lies, narcissistic lies, psychopathic lies and pathological lies, life saving lies, and occupational lies. He also summarizes the contributions of psychoanalysis to the concept of lying by outlining the work of Bion, Kernberg, and Lemma. Akhatar helps us to understand these concepts and the relativity of lying by using engaging examples from forgery in arts and antiques, as well as an ancient Indian parable. In Chap. 2, Dr. Ruth Fischer describes the developmental and intrapsychic capacities required for lying. She suggests that, in order to lie successfully, one must have eight prerequisite capacities: an attachment bond, a separate sense of self from others, achievement of rapprochement and object constancy, reflective functioning, appropriate cognitive development, distinction of reality from fantasy, ability to play, and oedipal organization. In Chap. 3, Dr. Gail Edelsohn expands these concepts by discussing developmental research on children from preschool-aged to adolescence and their lies, as well as their ability to maintain a lie or disclose a lie. These two chapters together provide clinically relevant material regarding the development of the capacity to lie. In Chap. 4, Dr. Lucy Lafarge offers an interesting approach to lying among clients with narcissistic personality disorder. She places her clients on a continuum of narcissistic disorders from nondeceptive narcissism to major narcissistic personality disorder, as well as a continuum of lying ranging from concerns of authentication to malicious deception. Dr. Lafarge presents intriguing case material focused on transferential and countertransferential aspects of lying at each level. The lying continuums she describes will be useful for clinicians considering the meaning of their clients’ dishonesty. Chapter 5 is a response to Dr. Lafarge by Dr. Harold Blum. He focuses on the contributions of the superego to lying behaviors. He also discusses a clinical vignette of lying associated with trauma. The client, who came to treatment with the complaint of feeling shadowy and inauthentic, had parents who had lied about traumas they experienced. The client’s early dream in treatment was of being on a train car with no access to reality. He asserts that this case confirmed his conceptualization of lying for the purpose of altering and controlling reality. Chapters 6 and 7 present forms of lying in personality disorders, ranging from borderline personality disorder to antisocial personality behaviors. Dr. Michael Stone, along with Dr. Clarence Watson, describes a range of personality S. D. Comer (&) Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA, USA e-mail: scomer3470@aol.com; scomer@smith.edu