The Unsung Psychoanalyst: The Quiet Influence of Ruth Easser

Naomi Brun is a freelance writer and a book reviewer for The Hamilton
Spectator.

Over the course of the 20th century, psychoanalysis has entered the
consciousness of the mainstream. Most educated people have a passing
understanding of basic psychoanalytical concepts, and many attend
therapy to resolve ongoing issues.

Twenty-five years after her death, The Unsung Psychoanalyst looks at
the life of a Canadian woman who pursued a career in psychoanalysis in
the early days of the field. Born into a family that was Jewish by
descent and socialist by choice, Barbara Ruth Easser was surrounded by
diversity and culture from a very young age. Her parents also valued
intellectualism and professional success; it is hardly surprising, then,
that Ruth applied herself academically and finished medical school when
she was only 23 years old. Her mother, who became enmeshed with Ruth,
dreamed that Ruth would set up a private practice in the family home and
look after her in her old age. Ruth, however, had other plans.

Perhaps to distinguish herself from her mother, Ruth moved from Toronto
to New York, where she studied psychoanalysis at Columbia University and
enjoyed a celebrated career. Analysands describe her as empathetic but
reserved. For Ruth, the establishment and maintenance of boundaries
allowed her to be an extremely effective analyst, and to Ruth
personally, allowed her to feel safe where she had not as a child. In
fact, Ruth’s boundaries remained so firm in her personal life that
they shaped a parenting style more concerned with justice than with
warmth or love.

The Unsung Psychoanalyst does not demand a thorough knowledge of
psychoanalysis, but it does require an educated reader with an interest
in the field. The book’s tone is quite detached, which, in all
fairness, may be a good reflection of Ruth Easser herself.