Bomba: Adolescence, Analysis, and Moments of Resonance

Six months into the pandemic and weeks before the new school year, the parents of a 13-year-old I’ll call Lulu1 contacted me. They described a bright, well-behaved teenager who had recently become anxious and irritable and had stopped eating. Once a model student, she now refused to attend classes. Most concerningly for them, she had cut herself superficially on her arm using the blade from a pencil sharpener.

The parents were raised in the same South American country, though they occupied vastly different sociopolitical spheres. Mr. F was wealthier, attended private schools, and has lighter skin. Mrs. F grew up in a rural, indigenous community, experienced more instability, and has darker skin. Mr. F’s family refused to support the large, customary public wedding given these differences, and the couple instead married at a local courthouse. They moved to the United States when Lulu was 4 years old.

During Lulu’s first 7 years, her mother experienced debilitating depressive episodes, including fits of rage and periods of lifelessness. Lulu responded by becoming uncommonly well behaved. Lulu’s mother has devoted herself to treatment since then and grown considerably psychologically.

During the first years of her analysis2 which were conducted mostly via video, Lulu let me into her extremely private world of yearning, fear, and fantasy: We talked as we played chess; she sang swooning pop songs; and we followed every move of the lead character in her favorite teen

drama. She revealed herself to be passionate, intensely anxious, and far livelier than her uncommonly composed pres