EMOTIONS.
Callwood, June.
Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday, c1986. 264pp, cloth, $19.95, ISBN 0-385-19976-7. Distributed by Doubleday Canada. CIP
Volume 14 Number 5
Originally issued as Love, Hate, Fear, Anger and other Lively Emotions in 1964, this most recent edition, revised and updated, was published in the United States under its new title Emotions, followed by this lengthy, descriptive subtitle: "what they are and how they affect us, from the basic hates and fears of childhood to more sophisticated feelings that later govern our adult lives. How we can deal with the way we feel." June Callwood has also written Portrait of Canada* and has ghostwritten five other books, including the bestseller, A Woman Doctor Looks at Love and Life (Doubleday, 1957). She lives in Ontario, Canada, and has become well known for her involvement with the causes of nuclear disarmament and a safe environment. After an opening chapter titled "Emotion," which provides an in-depth analysis of what emotions are according to a variety of philosophers, doctors, and other erudite authorities, Callwood proceeds to analyze eleven emotions, each in its own individual chapter. For each one, the origins are sought in babyhood and childhood, in the environment and in education. A vast gamut of authorities, spanning the ancient world to the modern, are cited at length. The emotions analyzed are love, hate, fear, anger, courage, guilt, ambition, depression, anxiety, happiness, and maturing, or maturity. Each chapter is very comprehensive and thought provoking and can be read independently from the rest of the book. Mothering and environment are predominantly looked at as the roots of adult emotions, and too little attention is given to other possible factors, such as biochemical imbalances and poor nutrition. A tremendous amount of background reading helped the author bring together in this well-researched book a vast array of individuals' opinions and findings. She quotes lavishly from many of her sources providing the reader with a large variety of expressions, ideas, and beliefs. Among the most frequently quoted authorities are Sigmund Freud, Erich Fromm, and Jerome Kagan. The struggle often involved in coping with one's emotions provides the major ingredient that paves the road to maturity. In Callwood's words: "Mature people have given up the need to be perfect. They measure what they do against what they can do, rather than against a standard out of reach. They accept their mistakes, repairing everything that isn't irreparable. They don't believe any longer that there is nothing they can't fix." Many people stand to benefit from the reading of this book full of information and meaningful insights; older teen-agers and their teachers, parents, and social workers come readily to mind. An overview of the "Selected Bibliography" provided at the back of the volume reveals that most authors ; would concentrate on one or just a few of the emotions in their studies; Callwood, on the other hand, has bravely tackled all of the major ones with a sense of balance and justice. The clarity of her exposition makes the book very readable and useful, and also helpful for reference purposes. Recommended for high school and public libraries.
Anne Locatelli, Elliot Lake S.S., Elliot Lake, Ont. *Reviewed vol. X/1 1982 p.54. |
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