Because my academic credentials (and my wife’s) include a wee bit of Jungian depth psychology, I occasionally get asked the question, “What book do you start with if you’re new to C.G. Jung?”

It’s a fair enough question, one that I was asking at the beginning of my graduate studies.

Now, there’s an easy answer to this question, but it’s not the one I’m going with…

Erinnerungen, Träume, Gedanken…

Or, as the English speaking world calls it:

Memories, Dreams, Reflections, known affectionately by Jungians as MDR.

Now, MDR has a lot to say, especially about Jung, as it is semi-autobiographical. If you really want to explore Jung on Jung, it’s a great starting place, bar perhaps his artistic-psychological grimoire/magnum opus, The Red Book.

Still, I think there’s a work that captures Jung better than either MDR or The Red Book, for the following reason:

This…