Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst, born February 2, 1931), is an American author, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is perhaps best known for her children's literature, such as "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney" (about the death of a pet) and the "Alexander" series of short books.

In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. In 1981, and after six years of study at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, she became a research graduate affiliated with said institute.

Children's literature

Among Viorst's books for children is the "Alexander" series, whose narrator is a 5-year-old boy who lives with his parents and two brothers, Anthony and Nick—named for Viorst's own three sons.
* Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
* "Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday"
* "Alexander, Who Is Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move"
* "I'll Fix Anthony"
* "If I Were In Charge of The World"

Viorst's book "Sad Underwear" is a collection of poems that examines a wide variety of feelings and experiences from a child's point of view.

Works for adults

Viorst's books for adults include nonfiction psychology books such as "Grown-up Marriage", "Imperfect Control," and "Necessary Losses". Viorst is also a newspaper columnist and has written frequently for "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post," and has been a contributing editor to "Redbook" magazine.

Biography

Judith Viorst lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, political writer Milton Viorst. They have three grown sons: Anthony Jacob Viorst, an attorney practicing in the Denver, Colorado area; Nicholas Nathan "Nick" Viorst, an Assistant District Attorney for New York County, and Alexander Noah Viorst.