Rereading Books as I Turn 80

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

“Once one hits 80, the phrase ‘Life’s too short’ takes on a new reality.” - Joseph Epstein¹

The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide by Robert J. Lifton was never very pleasant to read for most of the public and even psychiatric colleagues familiar with the worst of humanity.² It is about physicians who had the ethical priority to take care of the needs of patients, who at the same time supported—and even enthusiastically participated—in the abuse and killing of so many innocent citizens and patients, beginning with children and those with serious mental illness.

The book is now 40 years old and I read it way back then from the perspective of a fellow Jew and psychiatrist mentee. There have been new editions since, often with additional introductory comments about other related societal horrors around the world like ethnic cleansing.

Nothing seemed foreign to the ideas of Freud. However, from interviewing surviving Nazi physicians, Litton did add an essential innovative idea about how these physicians could live with their apparent betrayal of their professional ethics of “do no harm,” while at the same time remaining a loving family member. As I recalled it, that concept was doubling, a kind of dissociative process.

As this New Year began and I thought more about turning 80, I read an article in The Free Press on January 2, 2026, by Joseph Epstein, titled, “Ancient Wisdom: I Want to Die with a Book in My Hands.”² This 88-year-old author posited that as we become elders, we often have a different perspective on things, perhaps including old favorite books. He mentioned reading Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time twice, as it fit his definition of a classic:

“A book that has never stopped saying what it has to say.”

I have read it once, right after I retired from clinical and administrative work over a decade ago and probably need to read it again.

Lifton’s book has never stopped saying what it has needed to say. Not only is it applicable to other genocides and ethnic cleanings after the Holocaust, perhaps including the current wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, in order of their occurrence, but other societal operations where morals are subject to being compromised and separated. I wonder if it is the secret ingredient for understanding and addressing the ongoing epidemic of burnout in physicians and the belated growing recognition of our own moral injuries. Somehow, my current memory suggests that doubling might help explain that generalization, that we can trudge along with obstacles at work that our contrary to our values, yet be happy enough in our personal life.

There are other psychiatric books to read after I turn 80. Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams and Viktor Frankl’s Man Search for Meaning, both read in my adolescence, are two of them. But right now, The Nazi Doctors seems cogent in how to better understand and address the concept of doubling, a sort of defense mechanism that causes more harm than good.

Perhaps, though, coming up next, or even before these, is Samuel Huntington’s 1996 The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of the World Order. I vaguely remember starting to read it, but never finished it. Indeed, some of the escalating war in Iran seems like a cultural conflict, and we in psychiatry certainly have experience and expertise working with cultural and religious differences in our patients. Can we apply that knowledge to the war in Iran?

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specializes in the social, cultural, ethical, spiritual, and religious aspects of psychiatry, and since 2012 is in retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekdays column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He has been an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physical burnout, and xenophobia, among other social justice causes, serving on many related local and national community and professional Boards. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

Reference

1. Epstein J. Ancient wisdom: i want to die with a book in my hands. The Free Press. January 2, 2026. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.thefp.com/p/ancient-wisdom-i-want-to-die-with-a-book

2. Lifton RJ. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Basic Books; 2017.