“Hour of the Heart. Connecting in the Here and Now” by Irvin D. Yalom and Benjamin Yalom

This is my third book by Irvin D. Yalom, and sadly, I suppose this is his last book. He finished this book at around 90 years old, and this year he will turn 95, changing from long-term therapies with patients to one consultation meetings after the death of his wife and during the global pandemic. The brightest and touching stories of these one consultation meetings are presented in the book written in collaboration with his son Benjamin. The book was regrettably finished with the word “The End” to this career, like an existential psychoterapist as he confronts memory loss and aging.

All of his books, as well as this one, are very honest and unfiltered. I appreciate his existential approach and the being in here and now technique, which are for me fundamental and very conscious. He openly speaks about his aging, problems with memory, anxiety about death, as well as about other topics, and sincerely shares intimate, vulnerable experiences about his life.

The book explores how deep human connection happens not through analysis of the past, but in the existing moment between therapist and patient - the “here and now.” Through clinical stories and personal reflections, Yalom demonstrates how honesty and vulnerability can transform the lives of both the patient and the psychotherapist.

I wish our paths had crossed and I had a session with him, I have never met psychoterapist of his level in real life, and I regret it.