Heroes in the nursery: three case studies in resilience.

This article examines the therapeutic work in three cases (child, adolescent, adult) to study the impact of a supportive and nurturing parent early in life upon the development of resilience. The close analysis of the clinical material of each client's personal narrative is the primary source. The metaphor of "heroes in the nursery" is posited as a vehicle for enhancing understandings of the development of resilience. Each case provides additive meaning to recent studies that elevate the importance of the memories of parents to the development of resilient responses of children later in life. Each case reveals specific dimensions of the impact of heroes in the nursery which extend our understandings of resiliency in children and adolescents as a proactive response to stress, trauma, and loss. Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.