Barbra Streisand: on the Couch

 by Alma H. Bond

all information from Virtual Author Book Tours

Publisher: Bancroft Press (Oct 1, 2017)
Category: Literary Fiction, Celebrities, Barbra Streisand
Tour dates: Oct/Nov, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61088-211-8
Available in Print, 308 pages
We all know Barbra, the star, but how well do we know Barbra, the woman? In the latest installment of my On the Couch series, Dr. Darcy Dale, a renowned, pioneering Manhattan psychiatrist, is confronted by Barbra, who is dismayed after thirty years of minimally successful therapy. Over the course of a year, Dr. Dale conducts an intimate psychoanalysis, breaking through Barbra’s defense mechanisms and repressions to delve deep into the heart and mind of one of America’s last remaining superstars.
Published at the same time as Streisand’s own, long awaited memoir, Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is an essential companion, a sensitive, objective, pitch-perfect opportunity to look behind the voice and image, and to understand and fully appreciate Barbra Streisand, the human being.

Praise Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

“Thoroughly enjoyable.”—Kitty Kelley, author of mega bestselling biographies on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey
“Absolutely delightful … and wonderful … with fabulous insight … Fans of Barbra Streisand [will] love this book . . . It’s impossible to come away from [it] with anything but a warm, fuzzy feeling for this . . . adored songbird… Underneath is [an] . . . insecure little girl who lost her daddy . . . and never truly got over it.”—Readers Favorite
“This will appeal to anyone who enjoys discovering information about such a celebrity, how she feels about the ups and downs of her life, and other juicy details of her storied sex life and stellar career. […] The book has a can’t-put-it-down quality; the juiciness of the gossip, the emotional insights into her joy and pain, and the remarkable triumphs and failures of her long career are completely fascinating. Although the book is fiction, the author lists in a bibliography the numerous books and articles from which she garnered the very factual events and many of Miss Streisand’s own words from interviews that she used to create the sessions…”-Midwest Book Review
I’ve been a fan of Bond’s On the Couch series for years, but this one is absolutely her best. Barbra Streisand–with all her foibles and charms–comes alive on the pages of this book. Bond digs deep into Streisand’s psyche to give the reader a close-up look at a mega-star.
Instead of a tell-all novel that dishes out the dirt on her many costars, we follow along with Streisand as she herself recounts her many projects, affairs, and early history. Instead of a public relations–approved biography that glosses over Streisand’s need to be in control of her projects, this book revels in it, explores the reasons for a demanding actor/musician/director to behave as she does, shows the reader just how dedicated to her craft Streisand is.
If you’re a fan of her acting, her music, her career, or her activism, this is definitely a book you should read. Even if you’re not a fan, chances are you will be by the time you finish the book.”- Ann Beardsley

About Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

Award winning author, Alma Halbert Bond received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and became a highly successful psychoanalyst in private practice for 37 years in New York City. She “retired” to become a full-time writer. Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is currently in production with Bancroft Press, who publish the On the Couch series.
Hillary Clinton: On the Couch was published a few months ago, and received a Best Books Award Finalist book award. Jackie O: On the Couch, the first of her On the Couch series to be published by Bancroft Press, was published on August 15, 2011, and received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News, and International Book Awards Finalist. . Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst was published by McFarland Press in 2008. It received two awards, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News and Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist.
Michelle Obama, a Biography, was recently published by Greenwood Press. Dr. Bond has had 20 other books published.
Among other organizations, Dr. Bond is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dramatists Guild, PEN, the International Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Psychological Association. She taught psychoanalysis at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, where she is a fellow, and also has been a faculty member of WritersSchool, where she taught Psychology and Literature.
Website is http://almabondauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlmaHBond
Twitter: https://twitter.com/almabond

my thoughts:

This book is a work of fiction, although it is based in parts, on actual information.  It is not necessarily accurate. I actually thought when I got the book it was not fiction and that Dr. Alma Bond, Ph.D. was her psychoanalyst. I was mistaken.  It is fiction and Dr. Bond was the author.  She wrote this because she admired Streisand from a distance, like many others Most of us know Barbra Streisand as the performer.  Few probably know the person. Often times what appears on the outside is far from what is on the inside.   You put up walls to keep the utmost feelings, hurts, pain and unhappiness inside to prevent it from showing on the outside.  This results in extreme unhappiness and so much pain.  Barbra Streisand, an icon, a star, but what about the woman herself.   Take away all the glitz, the glamour, the tough skin, the armor and what was she really like? She had gone through a terrible loss as a little girl and like some, she never got over it. After years of unsuccessful therapy, Barbra turns to Dr. Dale, a well known psychiatrist in hopes of finding some peace.   It took a while, but Dr. Dale started to break down the walls and get to the root causes of Barbra's unhappiness.  Often times we only see the "star", we don't see the person.  As this book was coming out, Ms. Streisand was having her own memoir published so if you feel this is a book you'd like to read, I would suggest reading Ms. Streisand's memoir also.  Ms. Alma Bond has written several books in the 'On The Couch Series", along with 20 other books.  The author lets the reader in on some facts of Ms. Streisand's life.  You may go through a series of emotions anywhere from smiling, laughter, sadness and tears.   We all love the "stars". SO if you are a Barbra Streisand follower and fan or even, not, this is an interesting fictional read, with  chronological couch sessions with her doctor, Dr. Dale.  This is not only about Ms. Streisand the performer, but Ms. Streisand, the person, the woman, the human being.

At the back of the book is a list of articles where some of the information came from along with  books and a Yiddish Glossary.   Quite interesting.

I received a copy of this book from the author and voluntarily decided to review it.

 I would give this book 4 STARS.

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