Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1

The Absent Father 7
The Father's Silence 7
The Fragility of Masculine Identity 13
The Father's Body 22
The Missing Structure 30

Lost Sons 39
The Theater of Virility 39
Bob the Hero 42
Vince the Good Boy 50
Eric the Eternal Adolescent 53
Peter the Seducer 59
Michael the Homosexual 63
Julian the Feminist 74
Narcissus, Wounded in Love 76
Rock the Rebel 80
Desperate Fred 83
Chris the Addict 86
The Director's Epilogue 91

The Fear of Intimacy 93
Sexual Intimacy 93
The Intimate Couple 108

Repressed Aggression 115
Iron Hans 115
Getting It Out 117
Holding Back Anger 120
Meeting the Primitive Man 127
The Inner Warrior 131

The Blood of the Father 137
Betraying the Body 137
In the Entrails of the Earth 143

Beneficial Depression 151
Initiation Hunger 151
Depression as Initiation 158
Inner Balance 164

Breaking the Silence 167
Healing 167
Self-fathering 175

Conclusion 181
Bibliography 183