24/09/2025
I have recently read two books that I think are worth mentioning. The first is, The Absent Father Effect on daughters: Father Desire, Father Wounds by Susan E Schwartz, a Jungian therapist. In this book Schwartz sensitively and with extensive knowledge and experience, explores this common but little researched topic. She not only looks at the individual issues but reflects clearly on the societal role in the creation of the roles in families, and the subsequent relationship dynamics that manifest. The absent father is not one who is just physically absent but includes those physically present but emotionally unreachable and/or punitive. The material she offers is also useful in considering father/son relationships.
The second book is Shame and grace by Patricia De Young. In this book De Young, a psychotherapist, examines these themes by providing her own personal life story alongside theoretical considerations, cultural, gender and societal roles. Her courage to honestly open up to readers her own story is refreshing and enormously helpful.
Both of these book would be a useful read to counsellors as well as any human service workers and even those in organisational/systemic work whoa re interested in thinking about how the personal effects of trauma may play out in a systemic context.
