A clearheaded study of what life can do to us and possible ways to begin again. --carl a. Whitaker, m.d., author of midnight musings of a family therapist and coauthor of the family crucible women and men who have been d...A clearheaded study of what life can do to us and possible ways to begin again. --carl a. Whitaker, m.d., author of midnight musings of a family therapist and coauthor of the family crucible women and men who have been deeply hurt by someone they love often experience a pain that spirals out to undermine their work, relationships, self-esteem, and even their sense of reality.