Description
Book SynopsisThis book explores the mother-daughter bond within the life cycle, from early development on into the turbulence of adolescence and the ambivalence of separation then to the daughter's marriage and maternity, and finally, thoughtfully, to reparative opportunities inherent in the mother's aging and dying.
Trade ReviewFreud freely admitted he had to wait for women analysts to teach him about female sexuality. He would have also agreed he had much to learn from women about the mother–daughter relationship, so crucial for women's development. This gap has been masterfully closed by the seminal work of the authors represented here, who bring a wealth of clinical experience, research data, and feminine empathy to illuminate the intricacies of the mother–daughter relationship. -- Zvi Lothane M.D., Author of In Defense of Schreber: Soul Murder and Psychiatry
Since the 'style of loving in the transference is quite similar to the early attachment style,' a deep understanding of mother–daughter relationships becomes indispensable for doing effective psychoanalytic work with women patients. Hence, all mental health professionals will benefit from these refined appraisals by well-known, well-selected authors of the developmental consequences of the mother's 'large narcissistic investment in her child, particularly her daughter.' -- Ramon C. Ganzarain, M.D., training and supervising analyst, Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute
Mothers, culturally bound by a patriarchal system, have not been the subjects of their own lives. In this welcome addition to the mother-daughter literature, the authors explore the psychodynamics of the relationship, starting with childhood and proceeding through adolescence, marriage, motherhood, and aging. Clinical examples illustrate classical and developing perspectives on the themes—love and separation, identification and envy, idealization and competition—that make up the intense and ambivalent bond between mothers and daughters. All authors stress the lasting effect of that bond and reveal how psychotherapy can lead to insight and understanding. Dr. Fenchel is to be congratulated for this selection of outstanding and original thinkers on this subject. -- Charlotte Prozan, L.C.S.W., author, Feminist Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
