Anglican Mainstream

The report, thousands of years old, of a shepherd boy, youngest of eight brothers, beating all odds to slay a vile, tormenting giant still fascinates us. In the past weeks I've wept during the movie Facing the Giants, cheered during the reading of Jonathan Rogers Bark of the Bog Owl and prayed to the tune of Casting Crowns' "The Voice of Truth." All three revisit the ancient tale of David and Goliath.

 

Maybe it's our own human frailty that compels us to cheer for the underdog — maybe our dislike of injustice, the repellant nature of being held under someone's thumb, our memories of being bullied on the school playground that so connects us to David's plight. Whatever the reason, whatever the venue, we love to see David pick up a smooth stone and hurl it at the unmistakable, detestable Goliath. And so I've rooted from start to finish for Anonymous, M.D., while reading Unprotected.

 

In it the author, who agreed to have her identity revealed on the Dr. Laura Show following the book's publication, tells of a workplace where she's had to swallow her common sense and tow the politically correct line or risk censure and possible firing. Day after day psychiatrist Miriam Grossman sees patients at UCLA's Student Psychological Services who report eating disorders, depression, grief. She's learned to ask about their diet, exercise and sleep schedules; to probe for any history of addiction or abuse. What she must not mention, however, is sex. No matter how tawdry, immoral or unsafe their sexual habits, if she can't applaud them, she must at least never hint that her thoughts about their behaviors are anything but neutral. She writes: