Doris Iarovici

By turns wrenching, transcendent, and haunting, these rich stories follow characters whose lives are upended by death, estrangement, and loss—and the ways they must negotiate loneliness and absence to rebuild their new realities. In intimate portraits, a psychiatrist analyzes the missed signs of her stepson's dangerous addiction, a resentful boy seeks revenge against his stepmother, a surgeon confronts his failed marriages, an artist searches for a new identity in widowhood, and a young dancer plots to escape a manipulative older partner.

 

Woven through this slim and powerful volume are astute observations on how pain and grief can be inherited from one generation to the next. With tenderness and honesty, Doris Iarovici explores the plunging depths of the human experience, lingering on moments of familial warmth and joy but never shying away from conflict and tension. Minus One reveals a glimmer of hope and possibility, even in our darkest times.

Young adults enter college with many challenges—complicated family dynamics, identity issues, and extreme pressure to succeed, among others. Students may also have mental health difficulties, ranging from adjustment disorders to mood disorders, and growing numbers of them are seeking help on campus.

But these students are also resilient and eager to learn, stepping onto campus with hope for a new and better phase of life. Doris Iarovici, a psychiatrist at Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services, sees in college and university mental health services an opportunity for mental health professionals to bring about positive change with young people during a crucial period of their development.

Dr. Iarovici describes the current college mental health crisis and narrates how college mental health services have evolved along with changes in student populations. She discusses students’ lifestyle problems and psychiatric concerns, using case vignettes to explore a variety of interventions. Included are discussions of substance abuse, relationship difficulties, eating disorders, depression and anxiety, and culture clashes. Problems uniquely addressed in this book include sleep disturbances and perfectionism. An essential component of the volume is a guide to making emergency assessments, from risk classification and hospitalization to public safety and communication within and outside the campus community.

"...Timely and exceptionally well written...This volume should be required reading for all clinicians in college mental health and is indispensable for those teaching and supervising psychiatry residents, graduate psychology, and social work students within the student mental health setting." --Jerald Kay, M.D.

“In quietly powerful prose reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Doris Iarovici examines and then pierces the heart of the American dream in her debut collection. Mothers and daughters, doctors and teachers and maids, immigrants and others--Iarovici deftly slips behind closed curtains into the truth of their lives, recording their sacrifices and hopes and illuminating the hard divergence between dreams and reality. These poignant, beautifully written stories will haunt you long after the last page is turned."