Phyllis Chesler (born October 1 1940) is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island (CUNY). She is known as a feminist psychologist, and is the author of thirteen books, including the best-seller Women and Madness, and the recent publications The Death of Feminism and The New Anti-Semitism. ==Personal life== Chesler was born in New York State to Jewish immigrants. She attended Bard College, where for two years she had a relationship with a fellow student from Afghanistan. She was briefly married to him in 1961, during which time the couple lived in Afghanistan, in the capital city of Kabul, in the large, polygamous household of her father-in-law. She credits this experience with inspiring her to become an ardent feminist. According to Chesler, her problems began right upon arrival in Afghanistan. The authorities forced her to surrender her U.S. passport. Because of local custom, she ended up a virtual prisoner in her in laws' house, treated as chattel by her husband. She reports that the U.S. embassy repeatedly refused to help her leave the country. She also claims that several members of the household inflicted cruelty and abuse on her. After several months, she contracted hepatitis and became gravely ill. She attributes the disease to the actions of one of the women in the household who deliberately gave her unboiled water because she resented her. At that point, her father-in-law, who had all along disapproved of the marriage, made possible her return to the U.S. on a temporary visa. She graduated from Bard College. In 1969, she earned the Ph.D. in psychology at the New School for Social Research and embarked on careers as a professor and a psychotherapist in private practice. (via Wikipedia)