City of One: A Memoir

ISBN-13: 9780595414987 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 254 str.

Francine Cournos

Opis

By the time she was eleven years old, Francine Cournos was robbed of her parents by a pair of tragic deaths. Placed in foster care by relatives too disinterested to bother with her, she drew strength from the indelible example of her mother's courage in the face of breast cancer. Yet the orphaned child within her would play an equally profound role in shaping the exceptional woman she was to become.

In this unforgettable memoir, Francine Cournos tells the story of her transformation from the little girl whom nobody wanted into a successful, happy adult. In vivid, poignant detail, she describes the childhood that nearly destroyed her, and the strength of will that led to her decision to become a doctor against all odds.

Set against the backdrop of 1950s New York City, she weaves the devastating events of her youth with her mature experiences as a psychiatrist, wife, and mother. She shares her lifelong search for identity, love, and the medical answers that would demystify the illness that claimed her mother's life and force her to confront her early feelings of betrayal and abandonment. How Cournos came to terms with those feelings, to triumph over despair, is a story of awe-inspiring perseverance. City of One is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and of one woman's determination -- in the face of inconceivable loss -- to survive and to thrive.