Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow
Written by Judith Viorst
Narrated by Donna Postel
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Drawing on psychoanalysis, literature, and personal experience, Necessary Losses is a philosophy for understanding and accepting life's inevitabilities.
In this book, Judith Viorst turns her considerable talents to a serious and far-reaching subject: how we grow and change through the losses that are a certain and necessary part of life. She argues persuasively that through the loss of our mothers' protection, the loss of the impossible expectations we bring to relationships, the loss of our younger selves, and the loss of our loved ones through separation and death, we gain deeper perspective, true maturity, and fuller wisdom about life. She has written a book that is both life-affirming and life-changing.
Judith Viorst
Judith Viorst was born and raised in New Jersey. She received a B.A. in history from Rutgers University, and in 1981, after six years of study, she graduated from the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. Mrs. Viorst is the author of eight collections of poems for adults: The Village Square; It’s Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty and Other Tragedies of Married Life; People and Other Aggravations; How Did I Get to Be Forty and Other Atrocities; When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices; Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations; Suddenly Sixty and Other Shocks of Later Life; and I’m Too Young to Be Seventy and Other Delusions. She has also written You’re Officially a Grown-up: The Graduate’s Guide to Freedom, Responsibility, Happiness and Personal Hygiene; a novel, Murdering Mr. Monti; and six nonfiction books: Yes, Married; Love & Guilt & The Meaning of Life, Etc.; Necessary Losses, which was on The New York Times bestseller list for almost two years; its companion volume, Imperfect Control; Grown-up Marriage; and Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days: An Almost Completely Honest Account of What Happened to Our Family When Our Youngest Son, His Wife, Their Baby, Their Toddler, and Their Five-Year-Old Came to Live with Us for Three Months. In addition, she wrote a column in Redbook for over twenty-five years. Mrs. Viorst is the author of eighteen books for children: Sunday Morning; I’ll Fix Anthony; Try It Again, Sam; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; The Tenth Good Thing About Barney; My Mama Says There Aren’t Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things; Rosie and Michael; Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday; If I Were In Charge of the World and Other Worries; The Good-bye Book; Earrings!; The Alphabet from Z to A; Sad Underwear and Other Complications; Alexander, Who’s Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move; Absolutely, Positively Alexander, a collection of the three Alexander stories; Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest; Just in Case; and Nobody Here But Me. Many of her books, for adults as well as for children, have been published abroad. Several of her children’s books have been made into short films. Mrs. Viorst lectures widely on a variety of topics, ranging from loss and growth to children’s literature and the subject of control. Her poetry has been read in performance by Anne Bancroft, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, and Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach. Her musical, Love & Shrimp, starring Eileen Barnett, Bonnie Franklin, and Mariette Hartley, has been performed in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities. A musical version of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, with the play and lyrics written by Mrs. Viorst and music by Shelly Markham, was commissioned by and performed at the Kennedy Center and now appears at theaters all over the country. A second children’s musical, Alexander, Who’s Not, Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move, also with play and lyrics by Mrs. Viorst and music by Shelly Markham, was commissioned by and performed at the Kennedy Center and is currently touring the country. Mrs. Viorst resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Milton, who is the author of several critically acclaimed political books. They have three sons, Anthony, Nicholas, and Alexander, and seven grandchildren.
More audiobooks from Judith Viorst
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Necessary Losses
Related audiobooks
Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Resilient Grieving: Finding Strength and Embracing Life After a Loss That Changes Everything Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stuck Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Opening to Grief: Finding Your Way from Loss to Peace Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5WHOLE: How I Learned to Fill the Fragments of My Life with Forgiveness, Hope, Strength, and Creativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIs It Love or Is It Addiction: The Book That Changed the Way We Think About Romance and Intimacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping, and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Would I Lie to You?: The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Happens for a Reason: Finding the True Meaning of the Events in Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Can I Forgive You?: The Courage to Forgive, the Freedom Not To Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Growing Yourself Back Up: Understanding Emotional Regression Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life's Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A General Theory of Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Parents Hurt: Compassionate Strategies When You and Your Grown Child Don't Get Along Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Home Will Never Be the Same Again: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss, 20th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On My Own: The Art of Being a Woman Alone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Things That Matter Most 10th Anniversary Edition: A Book About Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Self-Improvement For You
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You’re Not the Only One F*cking Up: Breaking the Endless Cycle of Dating Mistakes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Let’s Hang Out: Making (and Keeping) Friends, Acquaintances, and Other Nonromantic Relationships Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Win Friends And Influence People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Highly Sensitive Person Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Practicing the Power of Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Seduction: An Indispensible Primer on the Ultimate Form of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Necessary Losses
72 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am a 36 year old woman, psychotherapist, mother, sister, wife and couldn’t have found this book soon enough. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The lessons and insights obtained from this book do not diminish with time. Keeping it forever for reference.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5a freudian perspective on psychology for a lay audience. Well written and a pleasure to read, this book is also an excellent introduction to psychodynamic thought for those interested in venturing into Freud's theories.