Introduction

In this chapter the author shares his experiences as a psychoanalyst. In December 1985 author's wife and their two boys left England to go to Australia. When he arrived in Australia he plunged into the works of Frances Tustin. This is where the author was at emotionally and she gave the words that offered form to this experience. He started to work on the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion. On a trip to London, author was talking to his friend, Cesare Sacerdoti, who at that time was the owner and managing director of Karnac Books, and he was trying to encourage author to produce a book for him. The papers that follow are all on the subject of narcissism. Shortly after the book on narcissism had been published, the editor of Revista Brasileira de Psicanalise asked author to write a summary of his theory. "The core of narcissism", was given as a lecture at a conference in Washington.