When Sophie Freud condenses her family history, her grandfather, the famed father of psychoanalysis, takes a backseat to the challenges she and her mother faced while escaping Europe during World War II.
Inside the Waltham Public Library, Freud recounted her earlier years through letters, diary entries and memories.
In writing her book, "Living in the Shadow of the Freud Family," Freud said she aimed to chronicle "whatever small space my mother and I took in the history of the last century."
As a professor emeritus of social work at Simmons College, Freud was previously a practicing clinical social worker and supervisor. She was also educated at Harvard College, the oldest school of Harvard University.
Although most people are familiar with the tragedy and injustice brought about by World War II, said Freud, "sometimes history takes on a special reality when told by the characters that lived through it."
In her book, she offers the spotlight to the characters near and dear to her - her "normally dysfunctional family," she said, routinely offering humorous twists to serious subjects.
With written memories from her mother, correspondence from her father and recollections from her brother, Freud weaves their many stories into one memoir by filling in the gaps with archival documents and materials.
"I allowed people to speak in their own voices," said Freud.
Her hour-long lecture began by detailing the meeting of her parents, Martin and Esti, who met while her father served in the military during World War I. Eventually her father was taken as a prisoner of war in Italy and her mother accepts his marriage proposal in one of the 40-plus letters she wrote him.
"This correspondence, as one-sided as it was, remained the highlight of their relationship," said Freud.
Once her affluent mother realized the financial struggles of raising a family during post-war Europe, the marriage deteriorated, said Freud.
Sigmund Freud was asked to lend his psychological expertise to her parents failing marriage, but told his son and daughter-in-law, "he does not believe in marital therapy, at least not in this case," said his granddaughter last night.
In a letter to her mother Esti, her grandfather wrote, "It is something that two partners have to reconcile between themselves."
Later on in her life, as Nazi Germany began to build momentum in their quest for domination, the entire Freud family began leaving Vienna, Austria thanks to the exit visas obtained by Sigmund Freud.
Alongside her mother, Sophie Freud headed to France while her famous grandfather, father and brother fled to London, where Sigmund Freud later died.
However, her grandfather did not obtain enough visas to share with his four sisters and all were eventually killed in concentration camps, said Freud.
Eventually Freud and her mother made their way from France to Casablanca in then-French Morocco, where they awaited emigration to the United States.
On Nov. 5, 1942, Freud and her mother reached the United States and only returned to Europe for visits.
When asked about her famed grandfather, Freud offered one of the final excerpts in her book to describe their "emotionally distant" relationship.
In a letter she wrote to him long after his death, she said, "You even gave me the courage to critique you. ... Your mighty shadow has enriched my whole life, rather than curtailed it."
Kerri Roche can be reached at kroche@cnc.com or 781-398-8009.
