At Home in the World
Sounds and Symmetries of Belonging
Spring Journal Books, 2010, available on amazon
From the cover:
This work offers a profound philosophical and psychological exploration of the multi-dimensional significance of home and the interwoven themes of homelessness and homesickness in contemporary global culture. Home as a particular dwelling place, as a cultural or national identity, as a safe temenos in therapy, and as a metaphor for the individuation process are analyzed from multi-disciplinary perspectives and, more poignantly, through the sharing of diverse narratives that bear witness to lives lived and endured from memories of homes lost and regained.
“With much pleasure and enthusiasm, I warmly recommend this extraordinary book to the receptive reader. Written in a colorful, poetic style, John Hill sensitively explores the multi-faceted meanings and experiences of home, which he characterizes as a “womb of many stories” and rightly compares to a “many-storied house.” His elaborations on this theme are psychologically nuanced, extensive, rich and perceptive-based upon his life-long involvement and interest in this topic and lectures he has given about it for over 20 years. Not exclusively focusing on the collective and popular idealization of home, he acknowledges and explores the dark shadows that home also evokes for many of us. A rich feast for the imagination awaits the reader interested in home and all its many associations.”
–Mario Jacoby, Ph.D., ISAP Zürich training analyst and author of Individuation & Narcissism and The Analytic Encounter