Absent Fathers, Lost Sons

Many modern men share the experience of the fragility of conventional images of masculinity. Psychoanalyst Guy Corneau traces this experience back to a deeper feeling that men have regarding the silence or absence of their fathers – sometimes literally, but mostly emotionally and spiritually. Why is this feeling so profound in the lives of the post-war "baby boomer" generation – men who are now approaching middle age? Because, he says, this generation marks a critical phase in the loss of male initiation rites that in the past secured the transition of a boy into manhood. In his compelling exploration of the many different ways this missing link manifests in men's lives, Corneau demonstrates that for men today, it is about reclaiming the essential "second birth" into masculinity by developing the ability to be fathers to themselves – not only as a means of healing psychological pain but as a necessary step in the process of becoming whole.

About the Author

Guy Corneau is a Jungian analyst trained at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich and is a co-founder of the Jung Circle of Montreal. He has given numerous lectures and workshops on male psychology.