IRVIN YALOM – STARING AT THE SUN
US author and psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, his children and friends look back on the eventful life of the 91-year-old and his late wife Marilyn. How did he become the successful writer and psychiatrist he is today?
Irvin Yalom is a well-known psychiatrist and celebrated author. His scholarly books have become classics. With his fictional stories and novels, he has enjoyed one success after another. As a therapist, he knows all about people's problems. He is ahead of his time, introducing direct conversation with patients as a diagnostic tool at an early stage. With his "here and now" approach, he focuses on the relationship between his patients and himself as therapist, always negotiating themes of death, freedom, loneliness and meaning. Irvin Yalom shared his love of literature with his wife Marilyn Yalom, herself an author of numerous books. The two were a couple for 75 years, and they continued to inspire each other until she passed away in 2019. Irvin and Marilyn wrote a book about death and the process of saying goodbye. After Marilyn’s death, Irvin fell into a deep depression. Eventually, however, he met German therapist Sakino Mathilde Sternberg – and found happiness once again. Together, they wrote a book about their childhood traumas. It is a candid dialogue between the daughter of a Nazi and the son of Jewish refugees. The film follows Irvin Yalom in his everyday life and creative process. It offers the audience emotional moments but also fascinating insights into the life of the 91-year-old writer. Irvin, his children and friends look back on the eventful life he and his late wife Marilyn led, giving us a very personal view of the "here and now".