To Thine Own Self Be True: Shakespeare as Therapist and Spiritual Guide

Richo has chosen twenty-three components of humanness, each a topic of a chapter. He begins each chapter with a short section about the topic as it is described in psychology or spirituality. Then he presents quotations from Shakespeare on that theme. Every passage walks us into who we are and can be, both psychologically and spiritually. The quotations are wonderfully imaginative kick-offs into it. After each Shakespeare quotation is a short re-phrase in modern English. After each set of quotations, he presents a paragraph or two, based on the points made in them, meant to show how they can be springboards into becoming more sensitive to the topic.

The book is divided into three parts. In Part One, the author explores who we are. In Part Two, he looks at what happens to us during a lifetime. In Part Three, he presents specific suggestions found in Shakespeare about how to put these themes into practice.