Loss

Loss is a key concept in Viorst's book. Loss, in Viorst's opinion, is a natural part of living and continues to repeat in different forms throughout our lives. Without the necessary, natural losses we experience, we would not have as much room to grow, change and mature.

Ultimate Connection

The ultimate connection described by Judith Viorst is the symbiotic relationship we have with our mothers. As infants, we do not recognize that we are separate individuals and, until we begin to break this connection by walking, talking and growing, we do not recognize our mothers as autonomous, but as part of our selves.

Narcissist

Excessively self-adoring with an absence of a stable internal self-love, a narcissist uses others for self-enhancement, using them as reflections and extensions of himself.

Oedpial Complex

Viorst and Freud feel that all people, as children, have an Oedipal complex to some degree. It...