Gibbs A. Williams Ph.D., Licensed Psychoanalyst past 46 years, NYU-- Ph.D. Voacational Rehab Counseling, M.S. Psychology Yeshiva University, B.A. Philosophy Columbia University, Author: DEMYSTIFYING MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCES: SYNCHRONICITIES – The Evolving Self, The Personal Unconscious, and The Creative Process, ATTITUDESHIFTING, SMACK IN THE MIDDLE: My Turbulent Years Treating Heroin Addiction at Odyssey House – a sixties memoir, numerous papers on substance abuse.

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH GIBBS A. WILLIAMS:

Author and psychoanalyst Dr. Gibbs A. Williams stopped by LitPick to talk about his inspiration as an author. In Smack in the Middle, Dr. Williams shares his experience working with heroin addicts at Odyssey House in New York during the 1960s. In addition to writing and treating patients, Dr. Gibbs A. Williams has also taught at various colleges and learning centers in New York.

Check out the book review (https://litpick.com/review/smack-middle-review-laura335) and the animated review video (https://youtu.be/cqlhlP_9LDw).

**How did you get started writing?

On a Christmas break from college feeling deeply depressed, angry, and confused, I started what would eventually become a twenty-eight-year journal. One result of the journal was the core material for a published book called DEMYSTIFYING MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCES (SYNCHRNICITIES): The Evolving Self, The Personal Unconscious, and The Creative Process.

***Who influenced you?

Two high-school English teachers and a few Columbia College Professors, including Mark Van Doren and Lionell Trilling. Additionally, the authors who most influenced my memoir are: Hermann Hesse, Compte Du Nouy, Freud, Jung, Wm James, Dewey, Pierce, Yates, T.S. Elliot, Machiavelli, Guntrip, Winnicott, Plato, Socrates, Will Durant, R.D. Laing, and Thomas Mann.

***Do you have a favorite book/subject/character/setting?

My favorite book is Realms of Meaning by Phil Phenix 

***What advice do you have for someone who wants to be an author?

Read a lot, write a lot, share a lot. Put away your work for a few months and then look at it again with a fresh pair of eyes. If writing isn't your #1 thing, find a good coauthor or editor. 

***Where is your favorite place to write?

Wherever I feel comfortable.

***What else would you like to tell us?  

With respect to marketing, these days it is all up to the author. Tip: sign up for free seminars re various aspects of marketing including: generating email lists, cover design, creating an appealing author website. Persistence wins the day. I began my memoir fifty years ago. It has been a very long pregnancy to delivery. Along the way there have been countless ups and downs.

Gibbs, thanks for stopping by to chat about your inspiration as an author. The advice you shared is very valuable, and we look forward to finding out how your experiences influence your next project.