Heart Wisdom

The early years of parenthood, alongside joy and excitement, are often accompanied by exhaustion, frustration, and a sense of being pushed to the breaking point. Faced with such emotional extremes, parents seek advice on how to escape crisis situations. But this is rarely what they need. What they truly need is not a way out of the difficulty — but a way through it.

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In Heart Wisdom, Dr. Shir Bar-Emet Gradman takes a path rarely traveled: while psychoanalysis has long used the parent–child relationship to illuminate the child’s inner world, she turns that lens around, onto parents themselves. Drawing on psychoanalytic insight and contemporary developmental research, she moves beyond quick-fix behavioral strategies, offering a deeper language for the emotional upheavals of these years — one that allows parents to reflect, make meaning, and ultimately grow. The book offers parents not only deeper understanding but also practical insight into the emotional challenges of early parenthood. It is equally valuable for psychoanalytic practitioners and clinicians working with parents and infants, enriching both personal reflection and clinical practice.