Wanting Everything

From the moment of conception we are in the business of surviving. We come into the world expecting that we can have everything and seeing no reason why we should not have it.

But we learn fast, learning that we can't always get what we want. The accompanying feelings of loss, frustration, anger, aggression, resentment and sadness can dominate the rest of our lives.

This book is all about the frustration endemic in our experience of life. It is about the strategies we evolve to cope with that frustration and convince ourselves that we can, after all, have everything. One strategy might be unlimited greed for possessions and power, and absolute determination to achieve the required goal without heeding any impediment. Another strategy might be to assume responsibility for everything, to saddle oneself with guilt for the world. Then there is the strategy of martyrdom, of "having everything" by publicly denouncing one's needs for anything. This book shows how the reader can free themself from the pain of loss, mourning, resentment, envy and greed to learn to live in the present, enjoying what they have.

Reviews

"'Wanting Everything' is such a startling book, so eloquent in its intelligence and in its compassion, in its requirement that we pay attention and reform – and in so doing remake not just ourselves but society – as to have the force of a modern-day bible"
FAY WELDON

"Dorothy Rowe is essentially a chronicler of emotional pain, a suggester of solutions. Her perspective on existence acknowledges sadness, pain, anger but it instantly makes things seem meaningful"
GUARDIAN

About the author

Dorothy Rowe was born in Australia in 1930, and worked as a teacher and child psychologist before coming to England, where she obtained her PhD at Sheffield University. From 1972 until 1986 she was head of Clinical Psychology. She is now engaged in writing, lecturing and research, and is world-renowned for her work on how we communicate and why we suffer. Her books include ‘‘Wanting Everything’, ‘‘Beyond Fear’ and ‘‘Time On Our Side’.