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A Psychoanalytic Childhood: A Memoir of Growing up in Mid-Twentieth-Century New York

Author(s) : Caroline Zilboorg

Reviews and Endorsements

I was a reflective child,” writes Dr Caroline Zilboorg, one who “analysed behaviour and experience… and struggled to understand things as they were.” And in her fascinating coming-of-age chronicle of growing up in 1950s Manhattan, she does exactly that. Early experiences of what she calls a “privileged and predominantly happy childhood” are eloquently, vividly, and movingly recounted, often with pathos and gentle humour. This retrospective survey of key events in her formative years — “privileged” perhaps, yet not without personal and familial vicissitudes — is filled with intimate revelations and with insights into the intricate process of trying to capture and convey le temps perdu.’
Michel Pharand, PhD, Advisory Editor, Broadview Press; Director Emeritus, The Disraeli Project, Queen’s University; Advisory Editor, Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries series, Palgrave Macmillan

Caroline Zilboorg has written a fascinating account of growing up in post-World War II New York City, daughter of the Russian-American psychoanalyst Gregory Zilboorg, and undergoing psychoanalysis herself as a child with Margaret Mahler. This was an era when the founding generation of psychoanalysts were living in exile, often on their second or third marriage, socialising with colleagues and therapy patients, and combining public and private spaces with treatment rooms in their own homes. “A memoir is itself a psychoanalytic act,” writes Caroline Zilboorg as she describes her attempts to be silent and perfect in a home full of employees and therapy patients while feeling unheard herself. I am recommending this book to my students and colleagues.
Esther Rothblum, PhD, Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies, San Diego State University; clinical psychologist; former editor of Women & Therapy

Dr Caroline Zilboorg’s new book is both moving and inspiring. Her writing style can be praised for its narrative richness, historical depth, and character-driven storytelling. Zilboorg excels at turning childhood memories and historical events into compelling reading. She weaves facts, analysis, and personal details into a narrative that feels colourful and accessible, making complex subjects engaging for a broad audience. Despite dealing with difficult and painful subjects and memories, Zilboorg writes in a clear, approachable style that makes this book appealing to both scholars and general readers. It is a very special book.
Ilonka Venier Alexander, MSW, writer; Founding Scholar, British Psychoanalytic Council