Carl Rogers: The China Diary

I had always wondered what was in this diary. I now discover a young man who is passionate in so many different ways. He is passionate in his openness to new experience and in his desire to describe everything he sees with scrupulous attention to detail. He is passionate about the people he meets from many nations and cultures and is often astounded by their ability and integrity. He is passionate in his anger when he confronts social injustice and exploitation. Above all he is passionate about his Christianity and is determined to live it fully and without hypocrisy. In this diary we see Carl Rogers the idealist for whom, sadly, Christianity and the Christian Church were ultimately to prove wanting. If this had not been so the world might never have known client-centred therapy and the person-centred approach. God moves in a mysterious way … Brian Thorne, Co-founder, The Norwich Centre, Emeritus Professor of Counselling, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Ninety years after they were written, these pages sparke with a freshness and frankness that even in the 21st century, seem contemporary … The diaries are astonishingly well written; the narrative is so compelling  and detailed that I could not put it down. It was like hearing the future psychologist Carl Rogers who I knew so well, in the clear thoughts, descriptions and reflections of the boy becoming a man. Marueen O'Hara, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, National University, La Jolla, CA.