Explorations of Mourning in Psychoanalysis and Literature: Turning Ghosts into Ancestors

This book explores the conflict between holding on to and letting go of loss,

paying homage to Freud’s classic ‘Mourning and Melancholia’ and building

on its foundation with contemporary ideas.

Losses are met throughout life and are either accepted and mourned

or resented and denied. Sometimes mourning is inappropriate or premature

because losses can be prevented, and unfinished business needs to be

completed. Eventually, however, accepting and mourning the loss confers

enormous benefits, many of which arise from the development of symbolic

thinking that enables ghosts to be turned into ancestors. These themes are

explored in clinical material and in extracts from literature. They enable some

of the ideas of Freud, Klein, and Bion to be expanded and updated. The book

ends with an edited transcript of interviews discussing the author’s personal

history in relation to his work.

With insights from across the author’s distinguished psychoanalytic career

and a deep understanding of literature, this is key reading for all psychoanalysts,

and anyone who wants to understand loss.