2001 Articles

Mourning and adaptation following the death of a parent in childhood

Cournos, Francine

My article is a very personal one. It is based on my recently published memoir, City of One, which tells a story of parental death in childhood. I will use this opportunity to interweave some of the conflicting viewpoints on childhood mourning, both from psychoanalytic and nonpsychoanalytic writings, with my own experiences. My memoir touches on many of the themes that appear in the professional literature, and follows them from my earliest childhood memories through my life today.