Albert Ellis - Autobiographical Works

Autobiographical Works

Most of the books Ellis wrote after inventing REBT had a strong autobiographical element. He used anecdotes from his personal life to explain how the insights of REBT occurred to him and how they helped him cope with personal problems such as shyness, anger and chronic illness. He also used anecdotes from client sessions to illustrate how his therapy worked. Two of Ellis last books were explicitly autobiographical. Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy: It Works for Me -- It Can Work for You (Prometheus Books, 2004) recounts his early life and crises in an unusually candid way. It illustrates the way he handled his problems, at first through philosophy, and later through the application of his emerging therapeutic skills and insights. All Out!: An Autobiography—published in 2009 after his death—is a more traditional narrative of his life and work (though it also meant to be an inspirational story of the use of rational thinking in self-help). All Out! is published by Prometheus Books.