When Nietzsche Wept

By: Irvin D. Yalom

Narrated by: Richard Powers

Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

In 19th-century Vienna, a drama of love, fate, and will is played out amid the intellectual ferment that defined the era.

Josef Breuer, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, is at the height of his career. Friedrich Nietzsche, Europe's greatest philosopher, is on the brink of suicidal despair, unable to find a cure for the headaches and other ailments that plague him. When he agrees to treat Nietzsche with his experimental "talking cure", Breuer never expects that he, too, will find solace in their sessions. Only through facing his own inner demons can the gifted healer begin to help his patient.

In When Nietzsche Wept, Irvin Yalom blends fact and fiction, atmosphere and suspense to unfold an unforgettable story about the redemptive power of friendship.

©1992, 2003 Irvin D. Yalom (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Profound

The sophisticated bromance of humanities great thinkers from the 1800s and the influence woman they loved had on them.

Brilliant

Brilliantly conceived, written and narrated. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in human insight, through the minds of Yalom, Breuer (Freud’s mentor) and Nietzsche.

Become who you are!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the "When Nietzsche Wept" audiobook, and found both the story as well as the performance excellent! A great "teaching novel" by Irvin Yalom, addressing big life questions that are very recognizable. Nice blend of philosophy and psychotherapy, and an engaging plot where the lines between therapist and patient get very blurry. I got a much better insight into the works of Nietzsche through this book, he truly seems to be one of the founding fathers of "self-actualization". Hats off to Yalom, who manages to make a book that is 80% dialogue and 10% monologue (diary entries, patient reports) fascinating!

Is a good book

I think is a good book, but I will say that is inclined for those that want to fantasize about the story of those philosophers but also about the possibilities of them playing those cards in a parallel world.

The bookI also gives you a lot of perspective of one’s destiny and decisions we make by overthinking and yet is all in our heads and not so much in real life action.

Overall decent for a fiction nieztche therapy book

It was okay. Really nothing special as it's based on therapy and how it could've been employed by nietzsche. Not bad if you're into this kind of stuff.

Masterpiece!

Wonderful piece of art. The narrator is clearly very skilled; you can easily get into a trance listening to him narrating.

Don’t miss this gem

The quality of writing, the thought provoking way in which the issues of philosophy and psychotherapy are portrayed is truly artistic. Highly highly recommend this audio book. Narration was excellent as well!

live changing for all and non therapists

expreriencia increiblemente clara de como uno puede aproximar a la labor de ser terapeuta de otros y uno mismo.

Very Insightful

As a new practicing psychotherapist I really enjoyed the clues and insight offered into the development of psychotherapy, or "talk therapy".

Humanism and Humanity Come Together

Would you consider the audio edition of When Nietzsche Wept to be better than the print version?

I have had the printed version for some time, as I am a therapist, but after several failed starts at reading it, I could not keep my attention on it. When I discovered it was an audiobook, I wanted to give it another try, as I have always preferred storytelling to reading the story myself. It was definitely worth the retry!

What other book might you compare When Nietzsche Wept to and why?

I don't recall any books from my past readings that I would find comparable to this one.

What does Paul Michael Garcia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Paul's voice and narrating style just drew me in to where I found myself not wanting to turn it off when I had to get out of my car to go to my office. I have heard Irvin Yalom speak on many occasions, and Paul's voice sounded like Dr. Yalom was reading the story to me. Paul's voice was smooth, clear, and very in tune with the emotions and meanings of the story parts.

If you could take any character from When Nietzsche Wept out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would probably want to spend time with Dr. Brauer. I would want to talk with him more about how he kept hope alive in himself to endure the roller coaster ride of Nietzsche's tragic struggles. I would ask Dr. Brauer to share with me some techniques and tips for working with someone who is that profoundly depressed and spiritually lost without going crazy myself. I have had some difficult patients in my own career, and could relate to several of Dr. Brauer's head-banging moments! I would be taking copious notes listening to him.

Any additional comments?

I have been a long time student of Irvin Yalom's works on individual and group therapy in the existential and humanistic way of doing therapy. This book was always one on my shelf that was in the "I'll read it someday" list. Something just got into my head one day to listen to the book when I found it was available in audio format, so I thought it might be an interesting story to hear, knowing Dr. Yalom's story telling skills and topics. LIstening to the story really filled my mind with such images and ideas that fell right into line beside my own experiences as a therapist working with difficult patients, and I felt validated in how I have been practicing, and I took a lot of notes from the story to use in my own practice. I have since discovered other books of his on Audible, and intend to listen to all of them as well. I'll have to thank Dr. Yalom the next time I see him for putting his books on Audible!