Persephone Returns
A psychotherapist and professor, Wilkinson (psychology, California Inst. of Integral Studies) compares her clients' struggles to mythic and fairytale accounts in the vein of many Jungians before her. Concentrating on case studies involving victimization, she includes the Persephone/Demeter story, Beauty and the Beast, and three tales from The Brothers Grimm, all of which lend themselves to an archetypal analysis of the hero/victim dichotomy. Throughout, she stresses the value of exercising liminality?the ability to employ and appreciate emotions, bodily sensations, dreams, and fantasies. Wilkinson makes numerous excellent points, e.g., that the fairy tale "mediates between the otherness of mythic images and everyday life." Although hampered by mundane passages on client histories that pale next to the sparklingly crisp mythic images, this book is recommended for therapists and informed readers alike.?Terry McMaster, Onondaga Cty. Mental Health Svcs., Syracuse, N.Y.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.