"Madness can afford the individual certain resources and abilities that are not available to others. The fantasy life, free flight of ideas, distortions of reality, and heightened senses ...offer a unique perspective on the world." -From the Introduction Why do some extraordinary individuals overcome mental anguish and produce brilliant creative artistry that is often enhanced by their madness? New York Times best-selling author and noted psychologist Jeffrey Kottler explores this fascinating question in Divine Madness. His book is filled with the compelling stories of emotional turmoil that many great artists have undergone as they struggle for success and survival. Jeffrey Kottler writes about the dramatic and tragic lives of cultural icons Sylvia Plath, Judy Garland, Mark Rothko, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Charles Mingus, Vaslav Nijinsky, Marilyn Monroe, Lenny Bruce, and Brian Wilson. In this riveting book, Kottler highlights the personal story of each of these extraordinary individuals and analyzes how they struggled to overcome their emotional hardships. Divine Madness clearly differentiates between those who surrendered to their illness, often taking their own lives, and those who managed to endure and even recover. Kottler details how their profound psychological issues affected their lives and work, their great productivity and success, and how they strove to achieve some kind of personal stability. The fascinating and brilliantly told stories in Divine Madness help us to find meaning in the incredible lives of these artists. They also serve as an inspiration for those who are grappling to rise above their own challenges and limitations and express themselves more productively and creatively.

作者簡介

傑弗裏·A·科特勒是在心理學和教育學領域最多産的作傢之一，已經齣版瞭65本跨學科的書籍。他為心理谘詢師和治療師撰寫瞭一打教材，這些教材在全世界的大學中使用；他也為從業的治療師和教育工作人員撰寫瞭12本圖書。他齣版的一些被高度評價的著作有：《如何成為治療師》、《有缺點的治療師》、《富有同情心的治療》、《讓改變持續》、《餐桌旁的母親》。

他還以通俗的語言撰寫瞭許多極為成功的描述復雜現象的書：《跨越責備》、《改變你生命的旅行》、《私人時刻》、《秘密的自我》、《眼淚的語言》和《最後的受害者：進入連環殺手心靈的一次真實生命之旅》。

科特勒還是一位有著30年教齡的教育者。他在各種不同環境裏——幼稚園、中學、精神健康中心、危機中心、大學、社區學院和私人機構——擔任過老師、心理谘詢師和治療師。1980年和2000年，他以富爾布萊特學者和高級講師身份分彆在秘魯和冰島工作；他還在新西蘭、澳大利亞、新加坡和尼泊爾等地做過訪問教授。目前，他在加利福尼亞州立大學富勒頓分校擔任心理谘詢專業的教授和係主任。

譯者簡介

邱文平，2006年畢業於復旦大學曆史係，曆史學博士，上海社會科學院宗教所宗教學研究室主任。

邵妍，女，1982年生於湖北鹹寜，本科及研究生均就讀於華中師範大學外國語學院英語語言文學係，研究方嚮為英美文學，對翻譯有濃厚興趣。發錶研究西爾維婭·普拉思的論文數篇，參與編寫數部口譯教材。現任教於中國人民解放軍海軍工程大學理學院外國語言文學係。

顔莉，女，1980年生，湖北鄂州人，現任湖北大學教師。2009年6月畢業於華中師範大學外國語學院，專業為外國語言學及應用語言學，碩士研究生學曆，主要研究方嚮為英語翻譯及英語教學。