What is a human being? Where does neurosis begin? Is sexual desire truly the engine of thought? Can fear, trauma and depression ever be cured? And what, by the way, is the meaning of life?

In this vivid and gripping account, psychologist Steve Ayan takes us back to fin-de-siècle Vienna, where a bold new idea was born: that psychotherapy could heal the mind. This is the enthralling story of how Freud, Jung, Adler, and their contemporaries revolutionised the way we understand ourselves – giving rise to psychotherapy, a field that would forever reshape Western culture.

With captivating storytelling and deep insight, Ayan unpacks the dreams, rivalries, and obsessions of these early visionaries. More than simply a historical account, this book explores the lasting legacy of their work, revealing how the promise of personal transformation became a modern fixture of society – and how the questions they raised still echo in our lives today.

"A captivating insight into a century full of ideas, conflicts, and personal dramas. For anyone interested in psychology and its history, this book is a delightful read. Enriched with numerous historical images, it transports readers to a bygone century while entertainingly teaching the history of psychology"
MDR Wissen

"Ayan is a brilliant writer. He masterfully combines anecdote with analysis, characters and their theory, follows the ramifications of psychoanalytic developments, and outlines the personalities of his characters"
Tages-Anzeiger

"It is extremely refreshing how Ayan, saturated with facts and biographical knowledge, goes against the grain of psychoanalysis. A salutary demystification that should give us food for thought even today"
Frankfurter Neue Presse