Stephen O’Connor on his new novel WE WANT SO MUCH TO BE OURSELVES

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Author Stephen O’Connor discusses his new novel, WE WANT SO MUCH TO BE OURSELVES. Günter Zeitz, psychoanalyst-in-training and the son of a Catholic country doctor, and Josine Rosen, Sigmund Freud’s patient and the daughter of a Jewish shipping magnate, first meet in 1924, in Freud’s Viennese waiting room. As their intense affair develops, Freud arranges for Günter’s appointment to the newly created Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. Shortly after the move, their daughter Hannah is born. But less than a decade later, all their hopes and ideals are profoundly challenged by political realities so horrific that they are, initially, beyond comprehension.

A heartrending story of love in a time of hatred, an absorbing investigation into the Nazis’ exploitation of psychoanalysis, and a cautionary tale about self-deception and the failures of a people to recognize the lies of their charismatic leader, We Want So Much to Be Ourselves examines the ways science can be corrupted and one’s very identity transformed by historical circumstance.

O’Connor will be on a book tour throughout June and July. Click here for information on locations and dates.

You can also read our October 2025 interview for further background on the author’s life and his insights on the book.

Stephen O’Connor is the author of seven books, including two novels: We Want So Much to Be Ourselves, (Bellevue Literary Press) and Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings; two short story collections: Here Comes Another Lesson and Rescue; Quasimode, a collection of poetry; Will My Name Be Shouted Out?, a memoir of his eight years teaching in a New York City public school, and Orphan Trains, a history of a controversial nineteenth century child welfare effort. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Best American Short Stories, and many other places. His story, Ziggurat, was read by Tim Curry on Selected Shorts. His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Conjunctions, The Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere, and his nonfiction has been in The New York Times, The Nation, Agni, and The Boston Globe. He teaches creative writing at Sarah Lawrence and lives in New York City.