VAPS Applied Psychoanalysis Committee

Zoom Book Discussion Group of

My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante

Hosted by Jean Pieniadz, Ph.D.

My Brilliant Friend is the story of two lifelong women friends and their

complicated, ambivalent bond, and its cultural roots and parallels. This

book, and discussion group, is the first in the Neopolitan Quartet.*

Aspects of this quartet will be addressed in an upcoming VAPS Applied

Psychoanalysis Committee conference in the Spring of 2021, by Dr.

Christine Maksimovicz and Dr. Stacey Novack. There will be 3 more

discussion groups before the spring conference, one per each of the

remaining three books. The book discussion group series gives us an

opportunity to read each work together and explore some of its

richness before the day-long conference. However, each discussion

group will explore one of the books, and be independent of the others

(attendance for any one discussion is not contingent on any other).

Two (2) CEUs are available for group attendees.

More details to follow. Limited to 10 attendees.

*The other three books are: The Story of a New Name, Those Who

Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child.