by Brett Kahr
First published 2021
Psychoanalyst Brett Kahr delves into Sigmund Freud's little-known writings on pandemics. As the world grapples with COVID-19, Kahr unearths Freud's insights on how infectious disease outbreaks shaped his theories on anxiety, mourning, and the human psyche. Kahr traces Freud's personal experiences with epidemics, from the cholera outbreak of his childhood to the Spanish Flu pandemic. Readers witness Freud navigating crises, from protecting his practice to processing collective trauma. Kahr's portrait reveals Freud as a flawed but prescient thinker, who understood pandemics as a crucible for the human condition.
Genres: biography, psychology, 20th-century, history-of-medicine, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: biography, historical
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
340 pages · Paperback · Karnac Books