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Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Masson has had at least four lives: first as a boy raised to become a "spiritual leader" (see his denunciation of such a life in My Father's Guru). While in the middle of his disillusion, he became a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. At the same time he trained to become a... show more

Masson has had at least four lives: first as a boy raised to become a "spiritual leader" (see his denunciation of such a life in My Father's Guru). While in the middle of his disillusion, he became a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. At the same time he trained to become a Freudian analyst. Upon graduation he became Projects Director of the Freud Archives, and was scheduled to move into Freud's house in London when fate intervened: Masson found documents which seemed to show that Freud was right in believing that many women had been sexually abused as children, and that he was wrong to give up this belief, perhaps impelled by societal displeasure at his discoveries. Saying this publicly turned Masson into a psychoanalytic pariah, and he gave up both his professorship and his analytic career to delve into the far more fascinating world of animal emotions. Two of his books, WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP and DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE, were New York Times best-sellers. He became vegetarian as a result of his research, and later, when he looked into the feelings of farm animals, he became even stricter, and no longer eats or uses any animal product (vegan). Harpercollins published his most recent book: THE DOG WHO COULDN'T STOP LOVING: HOW DOGS HAVE CAPTURED OUR HEARTS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. He lives on a beach in New Zealand with his two sons, Ilan and Manu, and his German wife, Leila, a pediatrician who works with children on the autistic spectrum (using the bio-medical approach), Benjy, a golden lab, and three cats. They often travel to the States, Europe, and Australia. He is now fascinated in the "us/them" phenomenon, between humans but also between humans and animals.
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Birth date: March 28, 1941
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Bettie's Books
Bettie's Books rated it 12 years ago
bookshelves: hardback, philosophy, paper-read, one-penny-wonder, nonfiction, biography, cults-societies-brotherhoods, autumn-2013, published-1993, autobiography-memoir Recommended to ☯Bettie☯ by: Lilo Read from October 15 to 31, 2013 I dedicate this book to my fatherJaques Victor Masson Openin...
Sharon E. Cathcart
Sharon E. Cathcart rated it 14 years ago
Jeffrey Masson's latest work examines the co-evolution of dogs and humans, and explains how it is that the two species are interlinked via their ability to feel love for creatures different from themselves.Inspired by the Masson family's dog, Benjy, the author examines the unconditional love that hi...
Melody Murray's Books
Melody Murray's Books rated it 15 years ago
I wish GoodReads had an "abandoned" button. Or in this case, a "hurled into the corner at speed for being entirely unreadable" button. I found the author's style so annoying, clunky and fragmented that I gave up very early on. There may indeed be something of worth here, but I haven't the fortitude ...
Constantly Moving the Bookmark
Constantly Moving the Bookmark rated it 16 years ago
The book presents the argument that animals of all types have feelings, emotions, feel pain and heartache and can feel and express love. For me personally, having been pleasantly owned by pets my whole life, this book was not a stretch in believability. It is an entertaining and well presented arg...
Book Love
Book Love rated it 16 years ago
This is a cute fable about how the first cat came to be domesticated. Recommended for all cat lovers and would be a good story to share with children.
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