Chapter 5
Calvin arrives at the office of T C Berger, M.D., and looks around his waiting room for a bit before coming face-to-face with the doctor. He distrusts Berger's eccentricity: lots of psychiatrists put on an eccentric act. The office is a mess because, as Berger tells Con, it was robbed earlier today. Berger begins to ask questions; Con figures out that the way to get through it is to keep it light. He tells him he was in the hospital for eight months for trying to kill himself; Berger asks how he did it; Con tells him it was with a razor.
When Berger asks him what he wants to get out of these sessions, Con says that he wants to be more in control, so that people won't worry about him.
Con asks Berger what he already knows about him; Berger tells him that Crawford told him only Con's name. Con tells him the facts: his older brother drowned in an accident on the lake while they were sailing, the summer before last. He also says he doesn't have any friends. Berger wants to see Con twice a week; Con says he'll skip swim practice to come. Conrad decides that Berger's not bad; he can joke about the difficult things--like the razor blade--which makes it easier to be open.
View More Summaries on Ordinary People
