The Beyond Busy Global Book Club discusses this book from June 4th – June 10th 2012, Join the discussion any time!Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama is written and illustrated by Alison Bechdel and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2012.
• • •
I felt like this book was like a therapeutic journey for Bechdel, and she took us along with her.
Along the way, and with lots of reading and research she explored what prominent psychologists have to say about parent-child bonding and reflected on her relationship with her mother.
By presenting instances from her childhood alongside psychological theory, the author seems to have learned things about her relationship with her mother that are healing for her.
As a reader, I found myself learning about psychological theories I would probably not have sought out on my own, and yet, I found myself benefiting from reading these insights and witnessing pieces of Bechdel’s relationship with her mother.
Did you feel like you were on a vicarious healing journey in reading this book? Why or why not?
Do you think this opportunity for vicarious healing was intentional on the author’s part?
Is it possible for a reader to benefit psychologically simply by reading, witnessing, and learning about psychological theories?
I am interested in your thoughts on this topic. 🙂
