In the book *A Matter of Life and Death*, we encounter the story and philosophy of two minds\u2014not just one\u2014penned by two distinguished professors and prolific authors. With clarity and candor, they look back on sixty-five years of life shared as a couple, thinkers, and university professors\u2014a partnership that produced significant works, enriching the global body of literature. This reflection unfolds as one of them is diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a cancer of the plasma cells), leaving the other gripped by the profound anxiety of potentially losing the most important person in their life.<\/p>\n
The man is Dr. Irvin Yalom, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, who dedicated sixty years to teaching psychiatry and psychotherapy. Throughout his career, he treated countless patients devastated by the loss of loved ones; yet, he found himself overcome by the fear of having to live as an “independent adult”\u2014for the first time in his life\u2014following the loss of his wife.<\/p>\n
The woman is Dr. Marilyn Yalom, who also held a prominent position as a professor of comparative literature (specializing in French and German) at Stanford University. She authored numerous significant books and studies in the fields of comparative literature and women\u2019s issues. Both Irvin and Marilyn Yalom were pioneers in their respective disciplines.<\/p>\n
Excerpts from *A Matter of Life and Death*
\nI fell in love with Marilyn seventy-three years ago, and not long ago, we celebrated our sixty-fifth wedding anniversary. I know it is not common for one person to love another so deeply and for such a long time.
\nYet, even now, when she enters a room, my face lights up. I admire everything about her\u2014her radiance, her beauty, her gentleness, and her wisdom. Despite our different intellectual backgrounds, we share a profound love for literature and the theater; whenever I have a question about the humanities, she never fails to enlighten me.
\nOur relationship has not always been tranquil\u2014we have had our disagreements, our quarrels, and our impulsive moments\u2014but we have always been open and honest with one another, and, above all, we have always prioritized our relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A humanistic and philosophical memoir in which a couple shares their journey through illness, aging, and the approach of death. They reflect on memories of love and life, the fear of loss, the meaning of existence, how to confront death, and how to go on living after the departure of a loved one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":33718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[905,854,837,834],"product_tag":[1252,1050,1359,1343],"class_list":["post-33720","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-world-literature","product_cat-biography-and-memoirs","product_cat-psychology","product_cat-philosophy","product_tag-feelings","product_tag-love","product_tag-philosophy","product_tag-thought","pa_book-author-irvin-d-yalom","first","onbackorder","sale","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/33720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=33720"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awraqonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=33720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}