The Inner Self is about the ways we hide from the truth about ourselves and the psychological freedom we enjoy when we finally face that most searching question of all: ‘Who am I, really?’

Hugh Mackay explores our ‘top 20’ hiding places - from addiction to materialism, nostalgia to victimhood. He explains how it is our fear of love’s demands that drives us into hiding.

He argues that love is our highest ideal, the richest source of life’s meaning and purpose and the key to our emotional security, personal serenity and confidence.

Yet Mackay exposes the great paradox of human nature: that while love brings out our best, we don’t always want our best brought out.

Powerfully written and drawing on a lifetime of research, The Inner Self is a work of extraordinary insight by one of Australia’s most respected psychologists.