Every Day Gets a Little Closer

By eminent psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom, a unique account of the therapeutic encounter that shares the dual reflections of psychiatrist and patient.

“A riveting story of people whose strengths and weaknesses are mutually shared, and it can and should be read as literature—not only as a wise and frank instruction.” —Alex Comfort, author of The Joy of Sex

The many thousands of readers of the best-selling Love’s Executioner will welcome this paperback edition of an earlier work by Dr. Irvin Yalom, written with Ginny Elkin, a pseudonymous patient whom he treated—the first book to share the dual reflections of psychiatrist and patient.

Ginny Elkin (a pseudonym) was a troubled young and talented writer whom the psychiatric world had labeled as “schizoid.” After trying a variety of therapies, she entered into private treatment with Dr. Irvin Yalom at Stanford University. As part of their work together, they agreed to write separate journals of each of their sessions. Every Day Gets a Little Closer is the product of that arrangement, in which they alternately relate their descriptions and feelings about their therapeutic relationship.

• “Very articulate patients are not the easiest to help, and it is a privilege to see in such depth how one of America’s best psychotherapists goes about each session with a worthy sparring partner. But quite apart from its psychotherapeutic interest, this is a riveting story of people whose strengths and weaknesses are mutually shared, and it can and should be read as literature—not only as a wise and frank instruction.”
  Alex Comfort, author of The Joy of Sex