Lovesick

Classifying love as an addiction to the unavailable ``valentine of their dreams,'' psychologist Macavoy and ``recovered'' lovesick Israelson here call on the tragic romantic life of actress Marilyn Monroe and the popular movie Fatal Attraction to illustrate their theory, freely adapting the step-by-step addiction recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous for their own purposes. The authors contend that, like alcoholics and other victims of addictions, most of the emotional problems of lovesick men and women stem from early experiences in dysfunctional families. Along with support groups, this self-help book--full of simplistic, coy, headlined dos and don'ts, ``trust game'' tests, and physical and visualization exercises--is intended to help the lovesick replace self-hate with self-esteem as a prerequisite for entering into a long-term, fulfilling relationship. (Feb.)