A client asked me this week what I thought of Sigmund Freud. His question triggered lovely memories from this past spring. While in Vienna we visited Sigmund Freud’s museum which is housed in what used to be Dr. Freud’s actual office before he fled the Nazi’s in 1938. (Too many visits by the Gestapo were making the good doctor very uneasy). Among other accomplishments, Freud is known for redefining sexual desire as the primary motivational energy of human life. I collect antique books on human sexuality and my collection includes an original copy of Freud’s “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality.” Needless to say this excursion was of particular interest to me. The highlight of the museum was a tour of Dr. Freud’s private library which is not open to the public. (There is nothing like a business card that says “sex doctor” from America to help gain access!). I readily admit to feeling the spirit of the legendary Freud and it gave me goose bumps to see that many of the books that we sexologists study are the same books that Freud was reading back in the day. Can you guess what the one item Freud was able to successfully escape to London with? His famed couch! Apparently Sigmund Freud had big pockets to go with that big brain! www.doctorcannon.com
