NONFICTION - Sept. 3, 1995

A SHINING AFFLICTION: A Story of Harm and Healing in Psychotherapy by Annie G. Rogers (Viking: $23.95; 322 pp.) Within various categories of books such as “fiction” or “memoirs” are smaller, less obvious categories. For example, memoirs of a person recovering from something, or an account of making peace with a difficult family. One of the most interesting aspects of “A Shining Affliction” is the fact that by mixing categories that are generally not mixed it leaves well-charted territory to become truly ambitious.

In part, this is a very clinical, yet emotionally realized account of the work a young psychotherapy intern, Annie G. Rogers, does with Ben, a severely disturbed 5-year-old. Rogers understands Ben on a visceral level, and under her care, he begins to form meaningful connections. Yet, there is another piece to “A Shining Affliction”: Midway through Ben’s treatment, Rogers suffers a mental breakdown that lands her in a hospital for months. With the help of a brilliant and unconventional analyst, she begins to face the terrors of her own past while continuing to work with Ben.

Rogers is a mercurial writer--sometimes clinical, sometimes almost hallucinatory. “She sees a young man in a wheelchair, a bright blanket on his lap. ‘Michael,’ he announces, extending his hand. ‘The archangel,’ she finishes, even as he shakes his head no. They play chess by the hour.” “A Shining Affliction” is an accomplished and inspiring book.