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It is a sad fact that the name of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann is almost forgotten, and her contributions to the field of clinical psychoanalysis are considered irrelevant if not dangerous. Yet Fromm-Reichmann was instrumental in organizing Chestnut Lodge, the first and the only hospital so far devoted specifically to the psychoanalytic treatment of severely psychotic patients, serving as its most important clinician, researcher, and author for more than two decades. However, she is now known only for the concept of the schizophrenogenic mother, which she has never considered very important, and which some contemporary authors find ridiculous (Pennington, 2002). As far as I know, only one collection of essays has been devoted to her work in almost half a century that has passed since her death (Silver, 1989). Therefore, this biography by Gail Hornstein is extremely important: it could hopefully re-establish Fromm-Reichmann's position not only as an important figure in the history of psychiatry and psychoanalysis, but also as an author relevant for contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches to psychosis.
The book is also valuable as an illustration of an excellent psychoanalytically informed biography. This “cradle to grave” treatise obviously took Hornstein, a psychology professor, many years of meticulous work. It is obvious that she has studied everything available on Fromm-Reichmann's work and life, as well as much material related to the relatives, friends, and colleagues who were important for her development. Hornstein has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in the Chestnut Lodge archives and presents us with many data that are published here for the first time. Also, her biography is always contextualized: Hornstein puts Fromm-Reichmann in the perspective of her growing up in Central Europe, of her Jewish identity and its influence on her decision to pursue a career in medicine, of the First World War and her work with traumatized soldiers, and of working with