In my discussion of Picard’s paper, I emphasize how she does not explain or justify her unilateral decision to close her practice but instead offers us a more direct access to her experience, with sensitivity to her patients’ pain, her own conflicts and personal needs. I believe Picard’s choice to be candid rather than explanatory provides the reader with a far stronger message about retiring a clinical practice. I suggest that the interests beyond analytic practice that both beckon her and sustain her into retirement relate to my concept of an essential “nonanalytic third.”