This is a compelling, compassionate book about both childhood and psychoanalysis. Freudian psychology so pervades our thought and language that Alice Miller’s corrections of its errors are necessary for our continued use of its concepts. For all of us who want to understand how childhood affected us, but particularly for those of us who were abused or are tempted to abuse, this is an essential book. It also gives all of us some ideas for thinking about how to prevent the violence and self-destruction that are the adult consequences of abusive and neglectful parenting.
