The Infinite Mind: "Should You Leave?"

In his phenomenal bestseller Listening to Prozac, Peter Kramer explored the makeup of the modern self. Now, in his superbly written new book, he focuses his intelligent, compassionate eye on the complexities of partnerships and why intimacy is so difficult for us. With the art of a novelist and the skill of a brilliant psychiatrist, Kramer addresses advice seekers struggling with such complex questions as: How do we choose our partners? How well do we know them? How do mood states affect our assessment of them and theirs of us? What does "working on a relationship" truly entail? When should we try to improve a relationship, and when should we leave? Equally at home with Shakespeare, Emerson, and Kierkegaard as it is with Freud and Jung, Should You Leave? is a literary tour de force from a uniquely insightful observer and a profoundly resonant and helpful approach to resolving dilemmas of the heart.

Praise for "Should You Leave?"

"A tour de force of analytical insight . . . moving and edifying." -- The New York Times

"Dr. Kramer's Should You Leave? is an imaginative and original meditation upon the subject of human relations. The therapist's role or roles; the tragi-comedy of 'adult' life; the paradox of 'advice'-offering in a context of highly complex and perhaps unknowable emotions-Should You Leave? is a startlingly intimate document, written with verve and insight." -- Joyce Carol Oates

“Contains riveting wisdom about what attracts people to each other and the deals we make in our relationships.” - Phyllis Rose, author of Parallel Lives

“A thinking person’s self-help book…Dr. Kramer’s optimism about relationships in infectious.” - The Wall Street Journal

“Kramer has a talent for developing fascinating characters and engaging cases and for translating complex schools of clinical thought into language that a broad audience can understand.” - The New York Times Book Review

“This is a thought-provoking book…that sticks to one’s mind…Kramer has written a kind of therapeutic Walden for the present-day urban scene.” - The Boston Globe

“Kramer has written a searching, serious book. He is not just exploring autonomy and intimacy in relationships, which he does with impressive intelligence through a series of imaginary consultations. He is also leading his readers through an elegantly written, exhilarating inquiry in to the shifting ways we have defined ‘self’ and psychological growth in this century.” - The Toronto Globe

“Probing and persuasive, Kramer gets you thinking in new ways about the eternal interplay of autonomy and connection.” - People

“Completely absorbing.” - The New York Daily News

“A pleasure to read.” - Robert Coles

“A fascinating…thoughtful, finely nuanced work. Kramer is that rare psychoanalytic theorist who is as comfortable invoking Tillie Olsen as Freud, and his composite case histories have the verisimilitude and insight that is the hallmark of the best—and truest—fiction.” - Publishers Weekly

“An illuminating look at the complexity of people and advice-giving in general.” - The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

“Wonderfully…and vividly recounted.” - Molly Haskell, The New York Observer

“This book is concerned with answering more than just the title’s basic question. It also delves into the intricate and compelling issue of psychotherapy and advice itself…. Written with a keen ear for narrative, this nonfiction title reads more like well-written fiction: smooth as silk…. highly recommended.” -Library Journal

“Full of plenty of other insights garnered from literature and the social sciences…Kramer’s book about how psychotherapy works has much substance. It is easy to learn a lot from it.” - Booklist