Review of Emotional Inheritance by Galit Atlas

One of the major tasks of therapy is to uncover the unconscious– and often this excavation process unearths secrets from the past that we have either kept from ourselves, or others have kept from us.  This book is a beautiful depiction of the complexity and difficulty of such an endeavor.  Author and relational psychoanalysis, Galit Atlas, illustrates the nature and process of relational psychotherapy, and how it can help patients to move towards healing.  Her focus is on painting a picture of how intergenerational trauma is transmitted from one generation to the next via the secrets and gaps in our histories. 

The book is broken into three parts, with each part focusing on grandparents, parents, and ourselves respectively.  Part One focuses on the secrets left behind from our grandparents, Part Two with parents– with the book ending with the secrets that we split off and keep from ourselves via mechanisms of denial or repression.  Each chapter highlights a unique case, with Atlas's personal story, history, and motivation for writing the book sprinkled throughout.  Each case is handled with care, and given so much life in the passionate writing and compassionate candor of Atlas.  The text is also a great jumping off point for those either interested in, or not within the field of psychotherapy or psychoanalysis.  Atlas wrote the book for all audiences, to help destigmatize and broaden people’s knowledge of intergenerational trauma and relatable concepts in therapy that have been around for over a century.  

If you are looking for a wonderful book, that is easy to read, I would highly recommend Emotional Inheritance by Galit Atlas.  The book runs the gambit of emotions from anger, to sadness, and will have you feeling all these at any time– due to the eloquent work of Atlas.  And is all the more reason to recommend this read.  If you also want to understand more about yourself, looking for something self-reflective, or even something that might teach you more about trauma and psychotherapy– this is the book for you.