'Let yourself look into the abyss,' commands Manage Your Mind: The Mental Fitness Guide. 'Put into words the catastrophe that you fear . . . Sometimes it seems not too bad when it is brought out into the open.' So what's the worst thing that could happen? You lose your kid. Hardly! Try this: one of your kids kills the other one. Or one of your kids kills your other kid and a lot of other people's kids besides. No sympathetic neighbours bringing over casseroles now. Or maybe you're the one who kills your kid, in madness or by accident. The abyss is deeper than you knew.

LRB 19 November 2009 | PDF Download