Becoming Myself audiobook cover - A Psychiatrist's Memoir

Becoming Myself

A Psychiatrist's Memoir

Irvin D. Yalom

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Biography & MemoirPhilosophy

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Becoming Myself
Early Life & Relationships+
Education & Medical Training+
Psychiatry Innovations+
Literary Career+
Aging & Mortality+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 6
How did Yalom's fraught relationship with his parents influence his own family life later on?
  • A. He decided not to have children to avoid repeating the cycle of generational trauma.
  • B. He distanced himself from his wife and children by focusing entirely on his career.
  • C. He intentionally cultivated a lively, warm, and highly connected dynamic with his wife and children.
  • D. He required his children to enter the medical field to honor his parents' sacrifices.
Question 2 of 6
What was the primary catalyst for Yalom's decision to become a doctor?
  • A. A desire to escape the poverty of his Russian immigrant parents.
  • B. The profound comfort provided by a local physician during his father's medical emergency.
  • C. A lifelong fascination with the biological sciences and anatomy.
  • D. The realization that psychiatry could help him heal his fractured relationship with his mother.
Question 3 of 6
What significant hurdle did Yalom face when applying to medical schools?
  • A. He lacked the financial resources to pay for application fees and tuition.
  • B. Strict institutional quotas severely limited the number of Jewish students accepted.
  • C. He had a poor academic record due to severe anxiety and insomnia during college.
  • D. Medical schools at the time did not recognize undergraduate degrees from his college.
Question 4 of 6
During his time at Stanford, Yalom developed a new theoretical model called 'existential therapy.' What was the core focus of this approach?
  • A. Analyzing childhood traumas to uncover repressed memories.
  • B. Using biological and pharmacological interventions to treat severe mental illness.
  • C. Confronting universal human themes like isolation, death, freedom, and meaning.
  • D. Replacing traditional group therapy with strict one-on-one psychoanalysis.
Question 5 of 6
Why did Yalom begin writing narrative fiction alongside his academic work?
  • A. He felt an intuitive pull to use storytelling to introduce therapeutic and philosophical ideas to a broader audience.
  • B. Stanford University required all faculty members to publish popular literature to maintain their tenure.
  • C. He wanted to write biographies because of his childhood obsession with the library's biography section.
  • D. He became disillusioned with clinical practice and wanted to transition entirely into being a novelist.
Question 6 of 6
What is a surprising revelation Yalom shares about his experience with aging as a prominent existential psychiatrist?
  • A. He has completely conquered all fears of mortality and never thinks about death.
  • B. He still experiences bouts of death anxiety and nightmares about mortality.
  • C. He regrets spending so much of his life working and wishes he had retired earlier.
  • D. He has lost the ability to enjoy his favorite books and films because he misses his late wife.

Becoming Myself — Full Chapter Overview

Becoming Myself Summary & Overview

Becoming Myself (2017) is a rare peek behind the curtain at the personal and professional life of one of the world’s most prominent psychotherapists. Weaving intimate anecdotes with therapeutic insights, it offers a unique, strikingly candid perspective on the human condition and the transformative power of psychotherapy. 

Who Should Listen to Becoming Myself?

  • Practicing psychotherapists and psychiatrists 
  • Individuals curious about a therapist’s personal and professional experience
  • Those interested in existential psychotherapy and self-discovery

About the Author: Irvin D. Yalom

Irvin D. Yalom is an American psychotherapist and professor emeritus of psychiatry at Stanford University known for his significant contributions to existential psychotherapy. He has written several best-selling fiction and non-fiction books, including The Spinoza Problem, The Schopenhauer Cure, and When Nietzsche Wept. 

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