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A patient recently mentioned buying a used book, an important work that defined a generation of psychoanalysts. He went on to say, “Probably one thousand people—if that—have even heard of it.” I felt the intended sting—psychoanalysis is esoteric, inconsequential, elitist, nearing extinction, if not already dead. Most of us have been on the receiving end of sly comments on the death of psychoanalysis. What about our own mortality?
When is it time for a psychoanalyst to stop working, face a life without a couch? A challenge to omnipotence, this touches on what gives our lives profound meaning and purpose. Might it not be discomforting for patients to witness our increasing vulnerability, impaired physical and mental acumen? Might not a premature termination be better than an abrupt one due to a sudden illness? On the other side of the darkening spectrum, is there a potential for a poetic closure? Might a limitation open possibilities for creativity and generativity?
By searching through the PEP Archive (pep-web.org), using aging, illness, termination, and death as principal keywords, I established a list of contributions spanning 75 years that address such questions with thoughtfulness. The format of the entries in this bibliography is kept as it appears on the PEP website.