Phantom Life Pain: Discussion of Hazel Ipp's 'Nell-A Bridge to the Amputated Self'.

In her moving narrative of the treatment of Nell, Ipp describes the 'amputation' of herself in the move away from her African homeland, along with the reconnection of that aspect of herself in their successful analysis. The loss of a sense of self, however, is not limited to geographical moves, but is inherent in almost any life change: for instance, from family home to wider world, or from one job or relationship to another. Each transition involves an inevitable amputation of memories, dreams, friendships, identities, and other associations, all of which have powerful emotional resonances. The connections are not obliterated, however, nor are they conventionally repressed or dissociated. Rather, they remain as presences: phantom aspects of ourselves that ache nostalgically from time to time to remind us of important things we have not quite lost. As Ipp's work shows, these aspects, ultimately, can be profoundly healing to reattach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]