Anatomy of a Secret Life
by Gail Saltz, MD
Morgan Road Books
We all carry secrets, ranging from PIN numbers to crushes to undetected crimes. Why do we do this, and does it make us bad people? Secrets are part of what makes us us, since knowing something others don’t, or only a select few know, defines us as individuals and groups. Dr. Saltz has made extensive study of secrets, and takes us on an interesting and revealing journey through the mundane and the horrific. As secrets become pathological, they go from a small part of life to defining it, and then taking control completely.
Anatomy of a Secret Life covers a number of topics, from the secrets of lovers and adulterers to those of homosexuals, perverts, criminals, and addicts. All of these people share a common facet – an important part of them would not be approved by friends or society. Each set of secret keepers has different levels of guilt to conceal, and Dr. Saltz explains them all in a simple, entertaining manner. It’s sort of self-help, sort of psychoanalysis, and sort of voyeurism. But in all its aspects, it is quite interesting.
