Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.
Publisher: Bancroft Press (Oct 1, 2017)Category: Literary Fiction, Celebrities, Barbra Streisand
Tour dates: Oct/Nov, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61088-211-8
Available in Print, 308 pages
We all know Barbra, the star, but how well do we know Barbra, the woman? In the latest installment of my On the Couch series, Dr. Darcy Dale, a renowned, pioneering Manhattan psychiatrist, is confronted by Barbra, who is dismayed after thirty years of minimally successful therapy. Over the course of a year, Dr. Dale conducts an intimate psychoanalysis, breaking through Barbra’s defense mechanisms and repressions to delve deep into the heart and mind of one of America’s last remaining superstars. Published at the same time as Streisand’s own, long awaited memoir, Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is an essential companion, a sensitive, objective, pitch-perfect opportunity to look behind the voice and image, and to understand and fully appreciate Barbra Streisand, the human being.
GUEST REVIEW:
I was so excited to be invited to read ‘Barbara Streisand: On the Couch’. I am a big fan of Streisand both as a movie star and singer. I learned things about her from this book that I didn’t know. She lost her father at an early age. I also lost my father at a young age so can empathise with her. We were both raised when parents fell mostly to the mother but you can’t under estimate the impact of losing a father had, even then.
Alma H. Bound is an excellent writer and with the aid of her meticulous research has really penned an entertaining book that gives us a peek into Streisand’s life and psychological struggles. Using fiction instead of biography has given her poetic license to write about a social icon in a fresh way. She doesn’t over do the fiction but just adds to Barbara Steisand’s persona. I loved this book and recommend you pick it up. I think it would also make an excellent gift for a Barbara Streisand fan!
I give this book 5 stars! I receive this book for an honest review.
Review by Betty G.
EXCERPT:
Barbra came in with an eerie expression on her face. Looking down as she came into the room, she said almost shyly, “I had the most incredible dream.”
“Good” I said with great anticipation (I love dreams). Tell me.
“I almost can’t. It is too overwhelming.”
“Try.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do..” She took her usual position on the couch.
What dream could be so incredible that she has to announce it with all that fanfare? I leaned forward expectantly.
She began hesitantly, “There is a knock on the door. I open it. There is a blinding light, so that I can hardly see who is there. I put my hands over my eyes to shield them, and see that it is Sarah Bernhardt. She says, ‘Congratulations on making The Prince of Tides,’ Barbra. It is a wonderful movie.’
“Good” I said with great anticipation (I love dreams). Tell me.
“I almost can’t. It is too overwhelming.”
“Try.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do..” She took her usual position on the couch.
What dream could be so incredible that she has to announce it with all that fanfare? I leaned forward expectantly.
She began hesitantly, “There is a knock on the door. I open it. There is a blinding light, so that I can hardly see who is there. I put my hands over my eyes to shield them, and see that it is Sarah Bernhardt. She says, ‘Congratulations on making The Prince of Tides,’ Barbra. It is a wonderful movie.’
"I say in all humility, ‘Yes, it went very well.’"
She turns her head around to me and says, “What do you think it means, Doctor?”
“What do you think it means, Barbra?”
“I’m afraid to say.
“Try.”
She said hesitantly, “I think the dream is saying that I’m going to go down in history as a great actress, as majestic as Sarah Bernhardt..... Do you think that’s what it means?
“I know that’s what it means.”
She smiled, and said, “So do I.”
She turns her head around to me and says, “What do you think it means, Doctor?”
“What do you think it means, Barbra?”
“I’m afraid to say.
“Try.”
She said hesitantly, “I think the dream is saying that I’m going to go down in history as a great actress, as majestic as Sarah Bernhardt..... Do you think that’s what it means?
“I know that’s what it means.”
She smiled, and said, “So do I.”
“Barbra,” I said, chastisingly. “I read something important in the newspapers about you that you never told me.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I read that in 1986, you founded The Streisand Foundation that has donated over sixteen million dollars for noteworthy causes like nuclear disarmament, civil rights, voter education, and women’s issues. Sixteen million dollars! Very few of us even see that much money in a lifetime, let alone donate it to charity. It is really wonderful of you. What a good woman you are! But how come you never told me about it?
Looking shyly at the floor, she said, “I was afraid you would raise my fee.”
Praise Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.
"Thoroughly enjoyable."—Kitty Kelley, author of mega bestselling biographies on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey“Absolutely delightful … and wonderful … with fabulous insight … Fans of Barbra Streisand [will] love this book . . . It’s impossible to come away from [it] with anything but a warm, fuzzy feeling for this . . . adored songbird… Underneath is [an] . . . insecure little girl who lost her daddy . . . and never truly got over it.”—Readers Favorite
“This will appeal to anyone who enjoys discovering information about such a celebrity, how she feels about the ups and downs of her life, and other juicy details of her storied sex life and stellar career. [...] The book has a can't-put-it-down quality; the juiciness of the gossip, the emotional insights into her joy and pain, and the remarkable triumphs and failures of her long career are completely fascinating. Although the book is fiction, the author lists in a bibliography the numerous books and articles from which she garnered the very factual events and many of Miss Streisand's own words from interviews that she used to create the sessions...”-Midwest Book Review
"I’ve been a fan of Bond’s On the Couch series for years, but this one is absolutely her best. Barbra Streisand--with all her foibles and charms--comes alive on the pages of this book. Bond digs deep into Streisand’s psyche to give the reader a close-up look at a mega-star. Instead of a tell-all novel that dishes out the dirt on her many costars, we follow along with Streisand as she herself recounts her many projects, affairs, and early history. Instead of a public relations–approved biography that glosses over Streisand’s need to be in control of her projects, this book revels in it, explores the reasons for a demanding actor/musician/director to behave as she does, shows the reader just how dedicated to her craft Streisand is. If you’re a fan of her acting, her music, her career, or her activism, this is definitely a book you should read. Even if you’re not a fan, chances are you will be by the time you finish the book.”- Ann Beardsley
About Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.
Award winning author, Alma Halbert Bond received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and became a highly successful psychoanalyst in private practice for 37 years in New York City. She "retired" to become a full-time writer. Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is currently in production with Bancroft Press, who publish the On the Couch series.
Hillary Clinton: On the Couch was published a few months ago, and received a Best Books Award Finalist book award. Jackie O: On the Couch, the first of her On the Couch series to be published by Bancroft Press, was published on August 15, 2011, and received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News, and International Book Awards Finalist. . Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst was published by McFarland Press in 2008. It received two awards, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News and Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist.
Michelle Obama, a Biography, was recently published by Greenwood Press. Dr. Bond has had 20 other books published.
Among other organizations, Dr. Bond is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dramatists Guild, PEN, the International Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Psychological Association. She taught psychoanalysis at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, where she is a fellow, and also has been a faculty member of WritersSchool, where she taught Psychology and Literature.
Website is http://almabondauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlmaHBond
Twitter: https://twitter.com/almabond
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