In The Shadow of Fame: A Memoir by the Daughter of Erik H. Erikson [Hardcover]

Sue Erikson Bloland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2005

As the daughter of the renowned psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson, Sue Erikson Bloland struggled from an early age to reconcile the public view of her father as a pioneering intellectual - and, for many, a quintessential father figure - with the complex and rather insecure man whom she knew in private.

In her beautifully written and moving memoir, Bloland recounts her father's rise to celebrity and the eagerness with which her parents embraced fame. Feeling overwhelmed and eclipsed by her father's acclaim, she spent many years searching for meaning and direction in her own life. She watched her father relate comfortably to strangers in ways that he was unable to with his own family. And like the children of many celebrities, she felt compelled to uphold her father's public image despite her awareness of his human vulnerabilities.

In a portrait enriched by her own psychoanalytic training, Bloland describes her family both before and after the advent of her father's fame, sharing her personal insights into the costs as well as the rewards of celebrity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bloland's father, Erik Erikson (1902-1994), was internationally famous for his research on children's psychological development. When Bloland was growing up, she says, people were drawn to the charismatic Erikson and his equally magnetic wife; they appeared to be "quintessential parent figures--exceptionally wise and knowing and comfortable with the most sensitive of interpersonal issues." But Bloland knew otherwise. Her parents only glowed when their fans surrounded them; around their children, the wattage dimmed. Years after the fact, Bloland's mother revealed that the brother they'd told her died at birth actually had Down syndrome, and that they'd had him institutionalized. Bloland notes in this probing memoir that her parents, by abdicating responsibility, were unable to help each other emotionally. Increasingly, her father's career became a substitute for actual parenting; Bloland languished in boarding schools and later moved as far away from her parents as possible. Only when Bloland became an analyst herself--a profession that lends itself well to writing such an inquisitive work--did she realize that her father, like many famous people, suffered "tormenting self-doubt." Analyzing her parents' damaged childhoods, Bloland eventually understands why they were such poor parents, and why they turned to professional success for their fulfillment. Anyone interested in the problems of fame will find Bloland's memoir useful.
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From Booklist

As Bloland probes her feelings about her parents in this memoir, she must deal with an added complexity in the parent-child relationship: the renown of her father, Erik Erikson, author of the psychology landmark Childhood and Society (1950). It was commonly presumed that Erikson knew how to raise happy children because he was a child psychologist. But as Bloland fearlessly admits, she was profoundly unhappy growing up and, following a divorce, began years of analysis in the early 1970s. She recalls her childhood as being negatively affected by her father's ambitious desire to become an academic celebrity and her mother's apparent perfection while handling a multitude of family roles. But there was a skeleton in the Erikson closet: Bloland's parents institutionalized her younger brother but told her that he died in childbirth. This painful deception led directly to the author's wider purpose in laying out her life: exploring the lack of contentment or even self-condemnation felt by the famous. Bloland's emotionally stinging, intellectually acute recollections are sure to attract a large audience. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1ST edition (February 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067003374X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670033744
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fame and the family, June 8, 2005

By 

Judith Bristol (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Shadow of Fame: A Memoir by the Daughter of Erik H. Erikson (Hardcover)

This very moving and fascinating book is a must read on several different levels. On one level, Sue Bloland is addressing an issue we are all so familiar with - fame and the human fascination with either achieving it or connecting with someone who has achieved it. Certainly, as she explains so simply and clearly, it is very human to idealize, envy and project many of our own fantasies (and power)onto the most successful people in whatever field they excel. As an analyst, the story she tells about her life with her father, Erik Erikson, expands and illuminates why some people are driven relentlessly to seek fame; what many issues the famous struggle with internally and silently, and what it is like to be the child in their shadow. She succeeds without jargon or over-intellectualizing in bringing to light the complexities of all these issues and in inspiring compassion for both the admired and the admiring.
On another level, she weaves a fascinating and very colorful tapestry that brings together her parents' histories and experiences, showing us what helped to create the very talented, charismatic and insecure people they were. In the process, we can all identify as we see so clearly the impact of past generations on who we become. These descriptions clarify so beautifully how nature and nurture shape us and our destinies. Thus, in describing her own childhood experiences in the light of her parents very complicated and often fascinating stories she takes us all far beyond anger or blame and leaves us feeling much compassion for everyone involved. This, I feel is the amazing gift tht she has given us in this poignant and beautiful book

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liberating Fame's Captives, February 14, 2005

By 

JW Dragon (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Shadow of Fame: A Memoir by the Daughter of Erik H. Erikson (Hardcover)

Using her own personal history as well as other historic sources, Sue Erikson Bloland documents the phenomenon of "fame" and its origins. Ms. Bloland has described not only her particular situation but the dilema of a generation. At some point in the 20th century, the cult of the individual eclipsed the cult of the collective (religion) and our immersion, both conscious and unconscious, in its web continues to shape our contemporary cultural landscape. This book is aptly packaged as a personal memoir yet Bloland sets the stage for further research as to why fame has become a defining social goal. Her focus is the damage rendered not only to those intimately connected to fame's fall-out but also to a society that diminishes itself as it elevates individuals to super-human status. At the end, Ms. Boland reconciles herself to her family (and heritage) and encourages us to re-examine our own need to worship other mortals. "In the Shadow of Fame" has brilliantly set the groundwork for liberating ourselves from the "cult of the individual" and gently encourages us to humanize the heroes we worship.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading for those with or without famous parents, March 27, 2005

By 

L. Stein (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In The Shadow of Fame: A Memoir by the Daughter of Erik H. Erikson (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully written and insightful memoir about the author's experience as the daughter of the famous psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson. Bloland's personal struggle resonated deeply with me, even though I have no familial connection with fame. She writes so candidly about her most painful (as well as her most affirming) experiences growing up that the reader is able to identify with her on many different levels. One of the most compelling books I've read in a long time.