Tormod Huseby
Alene naken is an exceptionally warm, tolerant and insightful book about what really controls our behaviour. Tormod Huseby is a psychiatrist deeply engaged with his patients and colleagues. In the book he shows what becomes of our lives when we are not ourselves. Why do we not turn out as we were meant to be, and why as adults do we continue to conceal who we are? The author also explains how we can be affected when other people haven't been able to be their true selves – children, spouses, colleagues or friends. That can lead to weakened self-esteem in those of us who have been rejected by them. We can suffer loss of energy, conflict in relationships at work and worry about our friendships. We may also fear violence and terrorism. Through many stories from his meetings with people – and from his own life – he invites us to reflect on why we are who we are, why we make the choices we do, and how we can make different choices to enable us to find a life where we dare to be fully ourselves. ’Honest, open-hearted and well written reports of some of the problems and people a psychiatrist can meet in his everyday work.’AFTENPOSTEN
Gro Dahle
The short stories in Amerika together make up a coherent narrative. The same characters appear in all of them: the girl, the mother and the father. The stories are all about the little family's life when they move to the big land of America. Two adults and a child: at the table; in the car; on holiday. A little girl growing up with a pinewood in the background. A father who yearns for spruce trees. A mother who has discovered sweet potatoes. Sometimes things are tight and difficult. Tangled misunderstandings and feelings of guilt; knotted stomachs, tense necks and anxious thoughts; days when everything is unattainable and it seems as if Death is standing right beside the bed. It's a matter of survival. Just keep breathing. Then they travel home, but to be at home is not always to feel at home. Some people never return, for there isn't always a way back.