This is the autobiography of Frederick Perls. Apparently, he wrote it more for himself than for people. It was as if it was an art therapy session for him to express some feelings through writing text. He repeated several times that he writes to relieve boredom and that it helps him. But at some point, he probably got tired of it and abandoned the matter. This is the impression I got from the composition of the book. The most difficult thing I encountered while reading was his poetry. Blank verse. Almost a third of the book is in these long, tedious poems. Maybe they got damaged in translation. Maybe I'm not a competent consumer of poetry. Or maybe they really are not very good. Don't know. At first I honestly read them, but then I began to skip them. An unprepared reader may be surprised by the author’s conversation with projections. Perls introduces them into the text, speaks to them, and responds on their behalf. For example, there is dialogue with a projection onto the reader. I was a little disappointed when I read this book. I had a naive, idealized idea of ​​Perls as a man who had achieved the heights of mental health and personal growth. But instead, in the text I saw a real, tired, with problems, sinful old man. Also with these stupid poems. But when the disappointment subsided, I saw a lot of interesting things in the book - various wild stories from life and practice (for example, an episode with a fight in the pool or an episode where a client strangles him), debunking myths (for example, about , that Perls took a lot from Eastern teachings - he became acquainted with them in old age and was not very impressed), an example of awareness, acceptance and honest presentation of his “shortcomings” (Perls’s penchant for showing off), many interesting facts for the history of Gestalt therapy, many interesting ideas for therapy. In general, reading is not for everyone, but very worthy. A must read for Gestaltists, of course..