“Dancing in the Dark” is quintessentially a novel about the search for love, and the myriad obstacles that couples confront along the way. As a psychotherapist working in the field for over three decades, I have dealt with these problems practically every day of my professional life. But why do they occur with such common frequency? If we all want love, why do we throw up so many impediments that thwart our hopes? The novel seeks to shed light on this mystery. In the two love stories that run side by side throughout the pages of “Dancing in the Dark”, the author endeavors to illustrate why things go awry. No one in love is born yesterday. We bring to this love a long evolution of our character; childhood development, family relationships, friendships, previous loves are all part of the amalgam that comprises the “me” of who we are. Unconscious fears, self-doubts, ingrained attitudes, expectations are all part of this person whom we have become. Relationships with significant others, good or bad, either prepare us to love or not. And what if our earlier experience of love has been unfortunate, or even tragic? How will that affect our capacity to love again?

“Dancing in the Dark” is a psychological novel revealing the inner conflicts of its protagonists. Death and divorce appear to be causative in the difficulties each character experiences throughout the pages of the novel. Unless our lives have been consistently sunny and free of strife, we are likely to enter an intense love affair with a degree of ambivalence and anxiety. We must effectively break free of these emotions or lose the full capacity to love. It is the central drama of love, and of the individuals who dance through “Dancing in the Dark”. The author finds both pathos and humor in the struggles of his creations. Every effort has been made to render them as real people, who demonstrate courage and cowardice, who inspire and infuriate, and, above all, who never bore.