At 74, after the roaring twenties came to an end, and the
depression was just beginning to settle in a while, Freud wrote Civilization and its Discontents. This
was eight years before the Nazis would allow him to leave the country but only
after forcing him to sign a statement saying he was not mistreated. He sarcastically asked if he could add, “I
can most highly recommend the Gestapo to everyone.” This is something to remember: He was a ballsy guy. To write the books he wrote at the time he
wrote them, took courage. He also famously noted, “What progress we are
making. In the Middle Ages they would
have burned me. Now, they are content
with burning my books.” The following
year, after a long struggle with cancer, his doctor helped him die with an
overdose of morphine. He missed all the
burning the Nazis did. This book
explores how to be happy in the face of misery, and he espouses a surprisingly
open view of sexuality near the end. (This very well may be the longest post in all the land!)
