
Anna Fishzon
Psychoanalyst and author of The Impossible Return: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Breast Cancer, Loss, and Mourning (Routledge, 2025), combining memoir, theory, and cultural history to explore cancer, loss, and mourning.
Best podcasts with Anna Fishzon
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Jan 20, 2026 • 52min
Anna Fishzon, "The Impossible Return - Psychoanalytic Reflections on Breast Cancer, Loss, and Mourning" (Routledge, 2025)
Anna Fishzon, a psychoanalyst and author, discusses her poignant book exploring breast cancer, loss, and identity. She intertwines her personal cancer journey with the themes of mourning and reconstruction, delving into how the body becomes an uncanny double post-surgery. The conversation reveals her reflections on cultural memory, maternal relationships, and the socio-emotional impacts of shame and anxiety in survivorship. Fishzon also connects her experiences to broader historical narratives, including her Soviet upbringing and reflections on queer temporality.

Jan 20, 2026 • 52min
Anna Fishzon, "The Impossible Return - Psychoanalytic Reflections on Breast Cancer, Loss, and Mourning" (Routledge, 2025)
In this engaging discussion, Anna Fishzon, a psychoanalytic clinician and author, delves into her new book, intertwining personal experiences with breast cancer, mourning, and identity. She explores how a reconstructed breast symbolizes uncanny loss and presence. Fishzon also examines the gaps in psychoanalytic literature around cancer existentialism, shame, and maternal relations. Drawing connections to Soviet history, opera, and nonlinear time, she offers profound insights into the complexities of survivorship and the relentless process of mourning.


