Analysis - Dawn + Dr. Lulu Shinefield dev. mother of 3 + young girl -

The novel focuses on the relationship between a psychoanalyst, Dr. Lulu Shinefield, and a young troubled woman, Dawn Henley, from the beginning of their therapy together through to its termination.

Progress of a young woman's analysis, interspersed with a glimpse of the analyst's life. I get the impression there is an outside analyst who has a kind of overarching view of the 2 of them. Being an analyst does not mean your own life choices are completely rational. There is some feminist viewpoint, i.e. are female analysts a better fit for women patients than male.
An interesting juxtaposition, but not a book I'm going to keep primarily because of it's characters are New Yorkers, and so many of the references are to city life which does not interest me. The "August" refers to the annual exodus of psychoanalysts from NYC for vacation, as well as to the month of crisis for the young woman. The setting feels uninterestingly dated to me (late 1970's, early 1980's). ( )

**spoiler alert** Hard to put this down, even though it was difficult (disturbing) reading. Fascinating details of a patient's therapy with a psychiatrist. Many who are abused not only survive, but grow stronger. ( )

This novel tells two parallel stories: that of psychotherapist LuLu Shinefeld, embrioled in a mid-life crisis, and one of her clients, Dawn, a young artist and college students who is in a constant state of crisis. The stories of these two women are played out in a series of chapters which alternate between Dawn's therapy sessions and Lulu's life, which consisits of a recently broken marriage and an attempt to make an old fling into something more permanent. Both women find their lives unravelling, and men are at the center of both women's problems. Lulu is having trouble negotiating the dating world, and Dawn is trying to deal with her obsessions for various men, including her former (male) psychotherapist. Both women struggle with family issues, too, as Dawn tries to reconcile her feelings about her adoptive and biological parents, and Lulu tries to deal with her children's unhappiness with their mother's new life. Overall, this was an engaging book. Rossner is an able storyteller, and I found myself drawn back to find out where the plot would go. But as many storytellers do, Rossner's characters seem to stray from the believeable at times. Dawn is now what one might call a cympathetic character. I'd call her whiny, annoying, and sometimes scary in her obsessions. The title, August, comes from the month each year that Lulu takes off for vacation, and this is when much of both characters' development happens. It's when Lulu takes off to the Hamptons, and is forced to think about her relationships and personal life. It's also the time each year that Dawn dreads; she believes herself to be unable of coping without a therapist nearby (and she's probably right). Desptie the issues previously mentioned, this was still an enjoyable read, and it easily kept my attention. ( )

After starting this I ended up skimming. Long slow meandering. ( )