Record of a Friendship

All the work in biopathies, including cancer, has been delegated to the

physicians. I practically do not do any medicine any more, except train­

ing medical doctors. Somehow this coincided with a great fatigue which

overcame me, as if the whole strenuous effort of two decades had broken

out at once. Ilse tries hard to get me off for a longer vacation which I

have not had for nearly 10 years. But I can find nobody to take over the

agenda of the Orgone Institute. I shall write you again very soon and

shall be happy to see you back here in the summer of 1950. I enjoy

the success you had in the U.S.A.

I read through your new book again, and was happy to find the sex­

economic problems so very well presented in it. They have sold 1000

Character Analysis, even before the announcements went out.

Please give my regards to Ena. I hope she will be able to make the

trip with you to the U.S. next year. And I, on my part, hope to be able

to show you the finished observatory by then.

Summerhill School

Leiston, Suffolk

My dear Reich,

• I •

March 12, 1949

Yours this morning. I don't like it. The great fatigue you
mention is obviously nature's way of crying: Reich, you fool, stop
burning yourself up all the time. You say you can't take a vacation
because you can "find nobody to take over the agenda of the Institute."
Um Gottes Willen [For God's sake], man, if you consume yourself
so violently and drop down dead, what does the agenda of the Institute
matter? Is it too late for you· to take three weeks' skiing? I tell you
I don't like it, Reich. I very much doubt if you use the Box either. To
put it neatly and bluntly I refuse to allow you to kill yourself with work
and worry, and you damn well will kill yourself if you can't relax ...
yes, I know you can relax in body, kick your own nose etc. That isn't
enough. You have got to live till you are at least 90 for there is no one
to carryon your work, and speaking selfishly, how could I ever come
back to U.S.A. if there was no dear warm friend Reich to greet me?
Sorry to act the part of the heavy father, but someone has to bully
you into taking some care of yourself.