Book Description

"In this inspirational book, Louise J. Kaplan, the critically acclaimed author of Oneness and Separateness and Adolescence, takes the experiences of separation and loss beyond the conventional stages of mourning to illuminate the psychological forces that sustain the dialogue between parents and children even after death." "Based on insights gleaned from her own experience as a psychoanalyst, as well as from cases of lost parents and children in art, literature, and recent history, Dr. Kaplan illustrates the ways in which this dialogue - the human dialogue - "is the heartbeat of our existence." Through the gestures of everyday life, a parent imparts to a child first the emotional expression, then the verbal language, and finally the symbolic communications of humankind that enable one to participate in society. Once we're engaged in the human dialogue, Dr. Kaplan explains, we cannot live without it." "When this dialogue is silenced by death or separation, we are, by nature, compelled to invent various life scenarios to reconnect with the lost one. These efforts, which are usually unconscious, lead people to gradually assimilate certain aspects of the lost beloved into their own self, often resulting in devastating acts of self-destruction or great artistic achievements. "Long after the return of logic and reason, long after we rejoin the world of the living, we are still attached to our lost ones," Dr. Kaplan writes. "The human dialogue - that which makes living a life worthwhile - goes on. In the absence of this dialogue, we are lost."" "Filled with moving, true-life experiences of parents and children who have loved and lost, No Voice Is Ever Wholly Lost is a book for anyone who wishes to know himself better. Personal and redemptive, it is a book that will encourage and help you grow beyond your own loss to a new strength of spirit."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved