Mothers of Psychoanalysis

Helene Deutch, Karen Horney, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein

"Gripping, novelistic accounts. . . . Interweaving biography, psychological analysis, and interpretation of each woman's theories, Sayers creates memorable characters whose differences become clear. . . . A useful, deeply intelligent book." —Booklist

Once patriarchal and phallocentric, psychoanalysis has now become strongly mother-centered. This book tells the story of that revolution through biographical portraits of four pioneering figures in the early institutions of psychoanalysis.

"In lucid, uncluttered prose, Janet Sayers presents the reader witha fresh viewing of the lives and times of four extraordinary women pioneer analysts. Sayers recounts how they were able to shift the theoretic balance of the day to include the creative evolution of their thinking. This book is of value not only for the novice, but certainly for many others who can learn from these excellent, abridged biographies." —Dr. Helene DeRosis

"[Brings] together four extraordinarily influential women and enables us to celebrate the courage with which they described their perceptions of the psychology of women." —Phyllis Grosskurth, New York Times Book Review