Hungry Hearts on Men Intimancy

Nowinski ( The Twelve-Step Facilitation Handbook ), a consultant to Yale University's Substance Abuse Treatment Unit, here delves into the onerous emotional repression men bear in order to live up to America's masculine ideal. He suggests that the resulting loneliness, rage and frustration impell many men to substance abuse. Though some might argue with his contention that men are more prone than women to addiction, his discussion goes far in explaining why men are often so reluctant to open up even to receptive wives. He dismisses men's habitual excuses for why they are unable to be intimate with a partner--lack of time, lack of energy, etc.--and argues instead that in the eyes of many men, mutability and/or vulnerability means weakness. Through vivid vignettes and probing questions, Nowinski attempts to provoke male introspection, because, he stresses, men who avoid intimacy are doomed to immaturity and isolation. (Aug.)