Reopening of Old Wounds: Unresolved Conflicts of the Foster Child

ABSTRACT

What does it mean to mourn the sudden death of a mother who abandoned you at the age of 5? In this narrative paper, the writer explores the many ways in which old wounds were reopened for him, more than fifty years later, when he was faced with the actual death of his mother in the summer of 2022. With her death the writer comes to realize that with death there is no ending. Mourning a mother that abandoned you does not lead to closure. There is always the question of Why? Themes of abandonment, grief and parental loss, centering around the writer’s experiences of growing up in the foster care system will be examined.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Patient anonymization statement

Potentially personally identifying information presented in this article that relates directly or indirectly to an individual, or individuals, has been changed to disguise and safeguard the confidentiality, privacy and data protection rights of those concerned, in accordance with the journal’s anonymization policy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Price

David Price is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (with R privilege) in full-time private practice. He has over 27 years of clinical experience working in the field of mental health, with foster care youth and families. David is a graduate of The New York School for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis where he received training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. He is also a pro bono psychotherapist and Board Member for The Fostering Connection.