What Women Want A Therapist, Her Patients, and Their True Stories of Desire, Power and Love

A profound and intimate exploration of female desire and identity, as studied through the lives of seven female therapy patients by award-winning psychotherapist Maxine Mei-Fung Chung.

Sigmund Freud once said: ‘The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is “What does a woman want?”' Through the relatable and moving stories of seven very different women, Maxine Mei-Fung Chung refutes this inscrutability and sheds light on our most fundamental needs and desires. From a young bride-to-be struggling to accept her sexuality, to a mother grappling with questions of identity and belonging, and a woman learning to heal after years of trauma, What Women Want is an electrifying and deeply intimate exploration into the inner lives of women.

Based on hours of conversations between Maxine and her patients, this book lays bare our fears, hopes, secrets and capacity for healing. With great empathy and precision, What Women Want presents a fearless look into the depths of who we are, so that we can better understand each other and ourselves.

To desire is an action. This extraordinary book liberates and empowers us to claim what we truly want.

Maxine Mei-Fung Chung is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and writer with over fifteen years of clinical experience. She lectures on gender and sexuality, trauma and attachment theory at the Bowlby Centre and was presented with The Jafar Kareem Award for her work supporting people from ethnic minorities experiencing isolation and mental health problems. What Women Want is her first work of non-fiction.