Description
How I Lost My Mother is a deeply felt account of the relationship between a mother and son, and an exploration of what care for the dying means in contemporary society
The book is emotionally complex - funny, sad and angry - but above all, heartfelt and honest. It speaks boldly of challenges faced by all of us, challenges which are often not spoken about and hidden, but which deserve urgent attention. This is first and foremost a work of the heart, a reflection on what relationships mean and should mean. There is much in the book about relationships of care and exploitation in southern Africa, and about white Jewish identity in an African context. But despite the specific and absorbing references to places and contexts, the book offers a broader, more universal view. All parents of adult children, and all adults who have parents alive, or have lost their parents, will find much in this book to make them laugh, cry, think and feel.Author: Leslie Swartz
Publisher: Wits University Press
Published: 03/01/2021
Pages: 252
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.54d
ISBN13: 9781776146949
ISBN10: 1776146948
BISAC Categories:
- Psychology | General
- Social Science | Death & Dying
- Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs
About the Author
Leslie Swartz is a clinical psychologist and a distinguished professor of psychology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He also has honourary attachments to University of Johannesburg and Western Sydney University, Australia. He is an experienced researcher known especially for his work on disability studies, disability rights, and mental health issues in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa. He has received numerous awards, including, in 2019, the Science-for-Society Gold Medal from the Academy of Science of South Africa. In addition to his scientific work, he has an interest in the use of creativity and the arts to effect social change, and he has worked on a number of projects using photography and other forms of visual expression for research and activist purposes. His memoir Able-Bodied: Scenes from a curious life (Zebra Press, 2010), received considerable critical acclaim.