In his discussion of his treatment of an eleven-year-old boy, Ablon supports his theoretical ideas via the boy's communications and behavior in an usually strong and convincing way. When the boy was four, his mother died of a brain tumor, which had caused her at times to scream at him. He had great difficulty accepting a stepmother, which he showed in interesting ways, repeatedly defeating his own efforts at school. The boy's guilt, anger, longings, and other feelings impaired his self-esteem and produced shame; the boy clearly demonstrated all this; and his treatment was most helpful. Ablon discusses how these feelings evolved and their effects upon the boy in each of the phases of his growing-up.