The bestselling author and psychotherapist, Ervin D. Yalom, shares his insights and perspectives in his memoirs, “Open and Secret: Abraham Verges.” Having built his professional career on exploring the lives of others, Yalom now turns his attention to himself, using his writing and therapeutic insights to reflect on his own experiences. His story begins with a nightmare: at the age of twelve, he dreams that he is riding his bike past a girl whose face is covered by a growth mark. As he does every morning, he calls out to her, hoping to build a friendship between them. But in his dream, the girl’s father appears and tells Yalom that his daily greetings are actually hurting her. For Yalom, this marked a turning point in his life—he would never forget this lesson. As the book progresses, we see the emergence of this insightful thinker who has illuminated the path for many others. This is not the story of the life of an ordinary man. Yalom’s reflections on his own life and development serve as a call for us to reflect on the origins of our psychological traits and the meaning of our lives.