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

By John Steiner

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1041201192
• ISBN13: 9781041201199
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 200 Pages