Sexuality in Mid-Life

Book excerpt: I wrote Sexuality in Mid-Life to assist clinicians in considering love, sex, intimacy, and dysfunction as they occur in this epoch of the life cy cle. The chapters reflect my belief that understanding the processes of living is vital for both the therapist and the patient. Despite my preoc cupation with creating a cohesive book, I often thought of these 11 chapters as essays because in this prose form it is traditional for the author to be palpably present in the text. I tried not to hide behind the passive constructions oftypical psychiatric books. I wanted to create a book that did not restrict itself to scientific findings, clinical experi ences, or ideological traditions. I wanted to discuss relevant issues that were generally avoided by professionals. In approaching the topics of love, extramarital affairs, and menopause, for instance, I hoped to em phasize the developmental potentials inherent in both mid-life's smooth sailing and its underappreciated adversities. Sexuality in Mid-Life is my third solo-authored book. During the writing ofthe first two, I thought I was painting a picture of the life cy cle of sexuality. When a young woman said something complimentary to me about Sex Is Not Simple and quickly added that I had left out any consideration of the sexuality of pregnancy, I was stunned by my over sight.