Through a Screen Darkly

I have wholehearted admiration for this extraordinary volume by noted psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Ahron Friedberg. It should be of great interest to psychiatric patients and psychiatrists alike. It could also be subtitled "love in the time of the COVID pandemic." The pandemic crisis transformed the close face-to-face therapeutic situation into a remote screen-to-screen encounter. As the pandemic is both danger and opportunity, the dark screen, paradoxically, shines a bright light on both therapeutic participants. Enlightened by his own struggles with the pandemic, Friedberg compellingly renders the existential dramas and unique narratives of his patients and teaches them to cope with the crisis, to maintain hope and resilience, to cultivate new contacts and connections, to discover new meanings in their lives and loves.

Henry Zvi Lothane MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

​Through a Screen Darkly is a remarkable achievement. In elegant, precise prose it captures the personal suffering of individuals during the pandemic while rendering the universality of their condition. Each essay is a version of how any of us could experience these new complexities that will, one way or another, determine all our futures. Dr. Friedberg's practice has been at the epicenter of the pandemic for several months, and he saw it all -- guilt, grief, fear, feistiness, and self-reinvention. He helped people find their way towards some kind of accommodation with post-COVID reality. His account of this straitened reality is, therefore, tempered with possibility and hope. As we make our way through these dark times, this inspiring book will become an essential read.

David Forrest, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University

​Through a Screen Darkly is a beautifully-written exploration of the human psyche as it struggles with the uncertainty, anxiety, and fear prompted by the pandemic. It is timely and fascinating. Dr. Friedberg's patients navigate from the initial shock of lockdown, to venturing out into a "new normal," and ultimately to resilience. A Screen portrays the latest incarnation of an ancient human challenge: to psychologically adapt to change and, even better, to learn how to thrive within it.

Heather Berlin, Ph.D., M.P.H., Neuroscientist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai

​As a literature professor and poet, I am engaged with many issues in this book from perspectives very different from the author’s -- for example, writing poems about Covid-19. So, I’m indebted to this impressive collection for its valuable new insights, notably its readings of literature. And Through a Screen Darkly illuminates our personal experiences of the pandemic -- we’ve seen the movie, now read the book.

Heather Dubrow, Ph.D., John D. Boyd SJ Chair in Poetic Imagination, Fordham University

'I have wholehearted admiration for this extraordinary volume by noted psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Ahron Friedberg. It should be of great interest to psychiatric patients and psychiatrists alike. It could also be subtitled "love in the time of the COVID pandemic." The pandemic crisis transformed the close face-to-face therapeutic situation into a remote screen-to-screen encounter. As the pandemic is both danger and opportunity, the dark screen, paradoxically, shines a bright light on both therapeutic participants. Enlightened by his own struggles with the pandemic, Friedberg compellingly renders the existential dramas and unique narratives of his patients and teaches them to cope with the crisis, to maintain hope and resilience, to cultivate new contacts and connections, to discover new meanings in their lives and loves.'

Henry Zvi Lothane, MD,Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

​'Through a Screen Darkly is a remarkable achievement. In elegant, precise prose it captures the personal suffering of individuals during the pandemic while rendering the universality of their condition. Each essay is a version of how any of us could experience these new complexities that will, one way or another, determine all our futures. Dr. Friedberg's practice has been at the epicenter of the pandemic for several months, and he saw it all – guilt, grief, fear, feistiness, and self-reinvention. He helped people find their way towards some kind of accommodation with post-COVID reality. His account of this straitened reality is, therefore, tempered with possibility and hope. As we make our way through these dark times, this inspiring book will become an essential read.'

David Forrest, MD,Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University

​'Through a Screen Darkly is a beautifully-written exploration of the human psyche as it struggles with the uncertainty, anxiety, and fear prompted by the pandemic. It is timely and fascinating. Dr. Friedberg's patients navigate from the initial shock of lockdown, to venturing out into a 'new normal,' and ultimately to resilience. A Screen portrays the latest incarnation of an ancient human challenge: to psychologically adapt to change and, even better, to learn how to thrive within it.'

Heather Berlin, Ph.D., M.P.H.,Neuroscientist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai

'As a literature professor and poet, I am engaged with many issues in this book from perspectives very different from the author’s – for example, writing poems about Covid-19. So, I’m indebted to this impressive collection for its valuable new insights, notably its readings of literature. And Through a Screen Darkly illuminates our personal experiences of the pandemic – we’ve seen the movie, now read the book.'

Heather Dubrow, Ph.D.,John D. Boyd SJ Chair in Poetic Imagination, Fordham University