Author(s): Jeffrey A. Kottler

Psychology

This work offers dramatic stories of famous artists who suffered emotional turmoil in their quest for success and survival. In this engaging story of the emotional origins of creativity, Jeffrey Kottler writes about the dramatic and tragic lives of such genius artists as Judy Garland, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Marilyn Monroe, Brian Wilson, Lenny Bruce, Mark Rothko, and others. In each case, he writes a fascinating personal story that also analyzes how each of these exceptional women and men struggled to overcome their emotional hardships, and how their psychological issues impacted their lives and work, as well as their great productivity and success. Jeffrey Kottler, PhD (Fullerton, CA), is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Counseling at California State University, Fullerton, and author or coauthor of 60 books, including the "New York Times" bestseller "The Last Victim" (0-446-52340-2) with Jason Moss. Contents: Preface. 1. The Nature of Madness and Creativity: Myths and Realities. 2. Sylvia Plath: Perfected in Death. 3. Judy Garland: Under the Rainbow. 4. Mark Rothko: Painted in Blood. 5. Ernest Hemingway: Living Up to His Legend. 6. Virginia Woolf: A Great Lake of Melancholy. 7. Charles Mingus:Musical Hallucinations. 8. Vaslav Nijinsky: A Method to His Madness. 9. Marilyn Monroe: Killed by Kindness. 10. Lenny Bruce: Sick and Dirty Comic. 11. Brian Wilson: Afraid of the Water. 12. Interpretations of Meaning in the Lives of Creative Geniuses. Notes. References and Further Reading. About the Author. First published 2006.