"Sweet Suffering", by Dr.Shainess, is anything but sweet. The book chronicles the etiology of Masochism and its structure of defense. If you are looking for excitement, adventure, joy, or romance, you won't find them here. What you will find is a fine tuned description of a personality disorder which wreaks havoc on the lives of those who suffer from it. Masochism is a debilitating disorder for many reasons. Dr.Shainess provides numerous case histories and examples from personal experience. Her goal is to alert the reader to the multifaceted ways the masochist undermines her own best interests over and over again, reinforcing the very pathology that initiated her turmoil. Within the context of a disturbed and disturbing, mother-daughter matrix, we discover that the tools needed for a mature adjustment are deformed in an effort by the child to avert further rejection. A pleasing facade covers over and over again, the true spirit of a child whose only flaw is her humanity. Cold, indifferent, hostile, rejecting, neglectful, angry, you can choose your poison. Dr. Shainess does a superb job in serving up to us the numerous ways the 'food' of deception and betrayal are administered by those who wield the power. Writing beautifully about a not so beautiful topic, is an art, and Dr. Shainess is an artist. She brings you a microscopic view of the subtleties of the sado-masochistic dynamic. Through her lens you can see for yourself how pathology is perpetuated by denial and repression. Rather than developing a sense of trust (Basic Trust) fear and depression become pervasive. The infantile core of the personality is damaged. Fear, loneliness, helplessness and depression result. Dr. Shainess wants to liberate the sufferer from the torment stemming from her early history and she does this effectively by simply telling us the truth.  --------Phyllis Antebi, PhD