Meryl Streep comes to Dr. Darcy Dale, a psychoanalyst, for treatment. She comes not because she is ill but because she is cast as a psychoanalyst in her next film, and wishes to learn from a pro what it is like.
Excerpt
October 9, 2017
"Meryl," I said, "I've been thinking about your analysis. In my opinion, you've done very well, and I hope you've gained more insight from it than you had hoped for. You have been coming here for nine months now..."
She laughed. "So I have. I guess you can say it has been a rebirth for me."
"But you don't need me anymore, if you ever did."
She answered in a surprised tone, "Dr. Dale, you are amazing. That is exactly what I've been thinking. I didn't want to say so because something in me really would like to stay with you forever."
I nodded. "I can understand that. It is comforting to have a place to come where you know someone wants to listen to you. When would you like to leave?" I asked, hoping she would say ‘In about a hundred years.'
"I wouldn't like to leave at all! But since I am beginning a new movie, the next session would probably do as well - or as badly - as any."
As soon as that? I thought."Shall we say then that your next session will be your last?"
"I'm afraid so. Although why anyone would be so foolish as to leave such a wonderful woman...."
October 11, 2017
We both were sad when the session began.
"I think I'm making a big mistake in leaving you," she said. "I'll never find anyone so wise and caring."
I smiled. "That's not true, Meryl. You already have a wise husband and knowledgeable friends. And you'll always have a little figure of Dr. Darcy Dale that you carry around with you. My teacher, Dr. Theodore Reik, once wrote, "My loved one is not gone, for I carry her around inside of me and now I can never lose her."
She said, "I love that. I'll remember it, too."
"What did you get out of your treatment, Meryl."
"I think most important of all, I learned who I am. I learned why I am the way I am. I learned that the only things that really matter in life are the people you love and who love you. I will always be a better person as well as an actress for having studied myself here."
"Very good, Meryl."
"It's very hard to leave you," she said, wiping away her tears. "For some reason, it brings back my loss of John."
"You make a lot of sense, Meryl. Every loss unearths all the old ones. Remember Shakespeare's Sonnet Number 30, When to the sessions of sweet silent thought?
"And with old woes new wail my dear times waste."
Then she said hesitantly, "I learned one thing more, Dr .Dale."
"And what is that?"
"I've learned that I love you very much."
"Thank you, Meryl," I said, my eyes filling to the brim.
She got up from the couch for the last time, and looked back at it wistfully. Then she fumbled around in her bag. I thought she was looking for a Kleenex, but instead she pulled out a crumpled check and handed it to me. I read it and my eyes bulged. It was the largest check I have ever seen. "What is this, Meryl?" I asked. "You don't owe me any money, and if you did, it wouldn't be anywhere near this amount."
She smiled. "It's a gift I would like to make to your psychoanalytic clinic."
My eyes filled with tears, and I pulled her to me in a deep hug. We stood there clinging to each other for a few minutes. Then I said, "Thank you, Meryl. This is very typical of you."
"Thank you, Doctor," she replied emotionally.
"You thank me? For what?"
"For accepting my gift for your clinic. Remember, you once said to me ‘to take is to give?"
She gave me a big bear hug - Meryl is a great hugger - as we reached the door.
"Well, Meryl," I said. "Do you think you learned enough about analysis to play the role of an analyst in your film?"
"Oh," she said in surprise. "Didn't I tell you? The studio dropped the film and we're not going to make it."
"No, you didn't mention it," I said wryly. "Does that mean you had the analysis for nothing?"
"God no,"she answered. "It is the best thing I ever did in my life!"
She gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and left the office without looking back
Professional Reviews
Sherry Knowlton review
Reviews for Meryl Streep: On the Couch
In Meryl Streep: On the Couch, Alma Bond continues the intriguing approach to biography she has used successfully in previous On the Couch books. In this latest installment, Bond’s fictional psychoanalyst, Dr. Darcy Dale, leads Meryl Streep through a training analysis to prepare the actress for an upcoming role in a film. During this extended series of sessions, Streep discusses her family history, her marriage and children, the arc of her career, and discloses thoughts about many of her movie and theater roles.
Bond’s unique take on biography makes for an entertaining read, even when covering some of the less exciting aspects of Streep’s early years. Of course, in the psychoanalytic context those early years take on outsize importance. The author’s decades of expertise as a practicing psychoanalyst shine through in Dr. Dale’s observations about Streep – and gives the novel format credibility.
This book is a must-read for Streep fans who want to not only learn more about the life of this accomplished actress but also to peek beneath the surface of her remarkable success.
-Sherry Knowlton, Author of the Alexa Williams Suspense Series
Christian Sia review
Review by Christian Sia
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Reviewed By Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite
Meryl Streep: On the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D. is a novel inspired by a famous historical personage, actress Meryl Streep, considered one of the best actresses of her time. Dr. Darcy Dale has the reputation of being the most successful psychoanalyst in Manhattan and her clinic, located on Fifth Avenue, is the place where some of the most famous people come for treatment. When Meryl Streep decides to pay a visit, it isn’t to be treated. She comes to observe and study how the psychoanalyst does her job in preparation for her next role as a psychoanalyst. A deal is made: Meryl will have to undergo psychoanalytic treatment herself. What follows is a tale that explores the journey and the psyche of a character whose spell never wears off on fans.
This story is intoxicating, magnetic, and utterly absorbing. Meryl Streep: On the Couch is a novel for readers who enjoy stories written with style and creativity. I must admit that the author took me by surprise, deftly handling characters and plot points in a way that makes the reader believe they are immersed in the mental landscapes of the protagonist. The drama is wonderful and it is reminiscent of real-life dialogues between interesting and intelligent characters. The prose is excellent and the creativity brought to the story is a work of rare ingenuity and beauty. The characters are well-researched and they fit beautifully into the literary canvas that Alma Bond designs. A work of great entertainment that will keep you on the couch, reading for hours.
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Reviews for "Meryl Streep: On the Couch"
Reviewed by Laura H.
1/21/2020
The novel's format makes for interesting reading and enjoyment of the subject. Be prepared to be reading for hours. I had no idea what I was getting into when I opened this book to read - but reading to the end - I am surely glad I did.
The dialogue between the therapist and this icon of Hollywood has the reader believing what is being presented.
Hearing about this actor's early life, family, and relationships --gives the reader a better understanding of the person we see on our televisions or on the big screen.
Readers are led on a journey of discovery and how one person's therapy will help us better understand ourselves. By reflecting on the material, a person is able to grasp a small iota of the affect therapy might have - given a chance.
For those people who want to better understand how working and living in the Hollywood bubble affects people -- read this book.
I am going to look up the other books in this series to delve into.
This book is a collection of short stories that depict events in Author's life while she lived in Romania, then in Greece, and last in America. It's a beautiful and very sincere account of a young woman's life and comming to age.
