Books by Alma Bond
1) Jackie O: On the Couch (2011)
2) Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst (2008)
3) Old Age is a Terminal Illness (2006)
4) Camille Claudel, a Novel (2005)
5) Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise (2002)
6) Children’s book, The Tree That Could Fly. (2002)
7) Who Killed Virginia Woolf? a Psychobiography (2000)
8 ) I Married Dr. Jekyll and Woke Up Mrs. Hyde (2000)
9) The Autobiography of Maria Callas, a Novel, (1998)
10) On Becoming a Grandparent (1994)
11) Is There Life After Analysis? (1993)
12) America’s First Woman Warrior: The Story of Deborah Sampson with Lucy Freeman (1992)
13) Dream Portrait with Arlene K. Richards and Daisy Franco (1992)
Click Below to for descriptions of these books and to order:
Jackie O: On the Couch (2011)
Not just another biography, Jackie O: On the Couch highlights, for the first time, Jackie’s life from her own perspective, as imagined by author Dr. Alma Bond, a psychoanalyst and long-time student of Jackie lore.
Jackie O: On the Couch is a unique exploration of the life, loves, and thoughts of a great historical figure. Jackie Kennedy Onassis deeply prized her privacy and, as a result, she was both revered and mysterious. In this book, much of the mystery is shed as Jackie finally emerges as a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional person―a true human being, with enormous strengths and shortcomings, who all of us can now understand and appreciate, perhaps for the first time
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Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst (2008). Soft cover $45.00
Forced to flee anti–Semitism, Margaret Mahler and her husband Paul came to the United States in 1938. Here Mahler performed her most significant research and developed concepts such as her ground-breaking theory of separation-individuation. This volume depicts Mahler’s life and work, her psychoanalytic contributions and ambivalent relationships with her colleagues.
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Old Age is a Terminal Illness,” (2006). $15 for Soft Cover
Dr. Alma Bond provides insight into one of the greatest challenges of life: conquering the fear of death. Using her own experiences with the deaths of loved ones, Dr. Bond constructed a “Death Journal” in a style similar to Sigmund Freud’s “Interpretation of Dreams” in order to overcome her fear of death. As a published author, Dr. Bond’s goal is to pass her experiences on to all those who need to conquer the same fear in order to live the rest of their lives to the fullest.
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Camille Claudel, a Novel, (2005). Soft cover $15
Camille Claudel, an old lady confined to the Asylum for the Insane in Montdevergues, France, reviews her life. She says, “I hope my memoir will illustrate the heights of passion Rodin and I reached, and unravel the mystery of why they were transformed into vinegar and ashes.” The tragedy is not only hers, she adds, but that of many female artists who found it impossible to achieve the success of men artists of lesser ability. The book illuminates her childhood and the rise of her career in the setting of her ecstatic life with Rodin. Their ten years of bliss are followed by the disintegration of her love for him, and its evolution into hatred and psychosis. The last third of the book describes the horrors of Claudel’s life in the asylum, ending with the highly original manner in which she comes to terms psychologically with Rodin and the other important figures in her life.
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Tales of Psychology: Short Stories to Make You Wise (2002). Hard cover $26.95
Tales of Psychology consists of nineteen short stories selected for their insight into human nature and their merit as fine works of literature. Each story is followed by a discussion of the psychological principles revealed. Reading this book will be a unique opportunity for lay readers and professional psychologists and writers alike to deepen their knowledge of human psychology. The book is recommended for students of human nature enrolled in psychological programs as well as the self-taught. Tales of Psychology demonstrates that artists can learn the psychological understructure of their characters from the insight of an experienced psychologist. Similarly, the stories establish that lay people can absorb the teachings of these master writers in a captivating, painless manner. It is entirely possible that in some cases, reading a particular story can change the life of a reader, reveal the depths of his or her own psyche or that of a loved one, demonstrate what is pathological and requires medical assistance, or reassure the individual of what is normal behavior. No one who reads these stories in depth will ever be the same again. Readers will have a better understanding of human motivation and behavior. Readers who absorb the contents of this book will have a better understanding of character motivation and behavior. As a result, they will be able to understand individuals better and to adapt more easily to people in their lives. In many cases they will understand themselves better, and, as a result, be able to lead less conflicted lives. The conclusions reached in the stories bear out the findings of insightful psychology in a manner interesting to all.
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Who Killed Virginia Woolf? a Psychobiography, (2000). Hard and soft covers $21.95 $16.95
Who Killed Virginia Woolf? reads like a theatrical plot with all the potential assailants clearly etched in the reader’s mind…. Virginia Woolf..avoided psychoanalysis. Alma Bond did it for her. The in depth psychoanalytic understanding of self destruction adds a new dimension to the professional’s therapeutic armamentarium of manic-depressive disorders. This outstanding book belongs on our therapy bookshelf. – from Scientific American
Alma Bond’s intriguing and cogent new book..employs psychoanalytic methods to examine the sources of Woolf’s genius as well as the pathology that led to her breakdowns and suicide. Treating Woolf’s prolific novels, letter, and diaries as the stream-of-consciousness disclosures of a psychoanalytic patient, Bond traces her childhood development, the formation of her manic-depressive traits, and the dynamics of her most significant relationships.These methods uncover many hidden causes for Woolf’s death and yield fascinating insights into her chaotic and brilliant personality
From The New Yorker.
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I Married Dr. Jekyll and Woke Up Mrs. Hyde, Soft cover (2000). $22.95
Why is one marriage out of two today doomed to end in divorce? My interviews with 71 divorced women searched for answers. Did they love their husbands when they married? Did they believe at the time that it was ’till death do us part’? Were there other lovers in the lives of the couple at the time of the divorce? Is there any connection between an unhappy childhood and a failed marriage? Do women tend to lose their identities in marriage?To my surprise, I saw the majority of interviews take on a similar shape, which revealed who the women were and how the divorces fit into the pattern of their lives.In my years of practice as a psychoanalyst, I saw how badly people need others with whom to identify. With this collection, divorcees can see their own fears, despair, grief, hopes, and aspirations reflected in the lives of women passing through similar experiences. I hope the fact that all the subjects came away from their divorces with greater strength, insight, and self-esteem will serve as an inspiration to all survivors of loss and pain. As Queen Isabella said in Henry V, “Happily, a woman’s voice may do some good.”
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The Autobiography of Maria Callas, a Novel, (1998). Hard cover $27.95.Soft cover $17.95
Alma Halbert Bond is a retired Freudian psychoanalyst whose love of opera and the fabled soprano Maria Callas led her to write this partly fictionalized psycho-autobiography, in the form of a novel. This is an ambitious psychological look at Callas’s life, and Bond’s claim to authority is in the analytical end, not the historian’s craft, but she has done her homework.
Some intense Callas fans have taken Bond fiercely to task for even daring to write a book dealing with their goddess’s motivations and feelings. No one can know what goes on in the mind of another, and this sort of psychological analysis–which does not benefit from any first-hand consultation with its subject–can only be educated guesswork at best. Still, many of Bond’s educated guesses make sense and help to fill in the puzzle that was Maria Callas. If the first-person narrative sometimes fails to work as planned, Bond’s love of her subject shines through, and fans of the great diva should give this book a try. –Sarah Bryan Miller
On Becoming a Grandparent, (1994). Hard cover $19.95
From Publishers Weekly
The birth of a child can affect its family “as a baleful disease,” asserts Freudian psychoanalyst Bond ( Who Killed Virginia Woolf ), a mother and a grandmother. Here she writes in a diary format to confide last night’s dreams and today’s worries–that she will “lose” her daughter after the baby’s birth; that she fears competition from the child’s other, richer grandparents. Having closely followed (and described) the growth of her daughter Janet’s embryo, and fantasized about her first grandchild-to-be, Bond then realizes she’ll have to “mourn” before she will be able to love the real child, and dolefully reflects that the child–Rachel Alana–”brings her that much closer to death.” It’s refreshing to listen in on such candidly inparted mixed feelings.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Is There Life After Analysis? (1993). Soft cover $3.97
From Library Journal
Drawing upon her 40 years’ experience as both analyst and analysand, Bond attempts to answer questions like: When will therapy be finished? How is the relationship between individual and therapist terminated? What happens after therapy? She looks closely at the bonds that develop between therapist and client, how both participants can recognize that the therapeutic relationship should terminate, and how the analysand adapts to life after therapy. Also discussed are the reasons why some find it necessary to return to therapy. A final section illustrates how many analysands have learned to live without therapy. Anyone considering psychotherapy, those currently in treatment, and former patients will find this book of interest. For large psychology collections. – Jodith Janes, Cleveland Clinic Fdn.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc
America’s First Woman Warrior: The Story of Deborah Sampson (with Lucy Freeman)
(1992)
Hard cover $25.59
From Publishers Weekly
In 1782 a 22-year-old Massachusetts farm girl disguised to avoid repetition, “distinguished herself” follows/good fix.gs as a 17-year-old boy if she’s a girl at 22, then a she’s a boy at 17 distinguished herself for bravery as a ranger and general’s aide-de-camp for the next 18 months in the Continental Army. In their well-researched, novelistic biography, Freeman ( Fight Against Fear ) and psychoanalyst Bond ( Who Killed Virginia Woolf? ) recreate dialogue and describe their heroine’s emotions as they theorize about her mixed patriotic and psychological motivations, discussing also recurring nightmares. Despite constant fear of discovery, Deborah Sampson, known as Robert Shurtliff, was an excellent soldier can you rephrase? the sexist language of marksman is particular awkward here; “was an excellent soldier”? and successfully adjusted to the war’s primitive conditions, training and battles. The discovery of her ruse by a doctor treating her for fever near war’s end brought praise from the military and the first congressional award of a war pension to a woman. Sampson later married and gave lectures about her experiences. Her story provides valuable insights into Revolutionary War history. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Dream Portrait (with Arlene K. Richards and Daisy Franco) Hard Cover $26.95
(1992).
‘From The New Yorker:
This intriguing book presents 19 sequential dreams of one of the author’s clients. These dreams are interpreted and analyzed in terms of improved ego functioning, superego modification, movement in transference, and improved object relations. The authors postulate that readiness for termination begins in dream three, and they illuminate features of subsequent dreams that validate this conclusion. …the volume is focused directly on the client, his dreams, the analysis of the dreams, and the indicators of pretermination they contain.