Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life

In addition to being the son of famous New Yorker editor William Shawn and brother of the distinguished playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, Allen Shawn is agoraphobic-he is afraid of both public spaces and isolation. Wish I Could Be There gracefully captures both of these extraordinary realities, blending memoir and scientific inquiry in an utterly engrossing quest to understand the mysteries of the human mind. Droll, probing, and honest, Shawn explores the many ways we all become who we are, whether through upbringing, genes, or our own choices, creating "an eloquent meditation upon the mysteries of personality and family"* and the struggle to face one's demons.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 02/01/2008
ISBN: 9780143113072
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.43lbs
Size: 7.36h x 5.80w x 0.51d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 02/17/2008 pg. 24