Scan barcode
valeriebrett's review against another edition
2.0
This book had a lot of nuggets of insight & wisdom but was too heavy-handed on biblical references for me, and also I didn’t think it was well-organized or balanced; it jumped around & at times seemed to summarize her other books which I found unnecessary. Also, it’s not too much of a manual for becoming an adult... it’s more about child abuse and how grown people should examine any of their own trauma so as not to pass it on to the next generation. A worthwhile cause, for sure, but the title I found a bit misleading.
maknic's review against another edition
4.0
This mainly cuz Tracy might read my babbling when she can't sleep......
Hmmm.......as I was reading my first two Alice Miller books, I was looking forward to perusing others' reviews. I thought I'd find many who blasted her away. Maybe they're all on Amazon, or maybe there are more reviews re: Drama of the Gifted Child, her more famous book.
In any case, she certainly made me think. I'm not sure I totally buy into all of her theories, but then, I don't subscribe to anything in life 100%. I can't help but wonder, though, to what extent the lens of her own experiences clouds her ideas she then presents as facts. Some of her ideas are backed up by extensive research, but other aspects are not. (I do realize that I've started with the more recent of her works, and that her philosophies have evolved. As usual, going bass-ackwards about it. ;-)
Don't get me wrong....former social worker here, even used to work in cps, and have always been interested (or even, compelled) to discover my own past. Also a long-time fan of La Boyer, midwifery, AP, etc, tho I came about those from a parent-to-be bent and not a psychoanalytical one. I'm glad Miller is out there, causing people to think about infants, "punishment", child rearing practices, repression of early childhood trauma, methods of psychoanalysis, generational repetition of abusive patterns and the links between all of these and religion, world history, dictators, war.
Still, I have many questions. Don't yet have time to go to her website, but may one day. For instance, I'm not sure what I think about her discussion of forgiveness as denial. I certainly see what she means, but I struggle to determine if it's just that I don't agree with her, or if, as she would say, that very disagreement is a prime indication of my own denial/trauma. A bit too much like fundamentalism of any sort for me, but this sort of work is not digested overnight.
I do also find it interesting that there are hardly any written reviews here. Not sure if it's because of nature of the material (shame causing silence?), or just that this website is geared towards more eloquently educated people than I to yak about literature/fiction.
Hmmm.......as I was reading my first two Alice Miller books, I was looking forward to perusing others' reviews. I thought I'd find many who blasted her away. Maybe they're all on Amazon, or maybe there are more reviews re: Drama of the Gifted Child, her more famous book.
In any case, she certainly made me think. I'm not sure I totally buy into all of her theories, but then, I don't subscribe to anything in life 100%. I can't help but wonder, though, to what extent the lens of her own experiences clouds her ideas she then presents as facts. Some of her ideas are backed up by extensive research, but other aspects are not. (I do realize that I've started with the more recent of her works, and that her philosophies have evolved. As usual, going bass-ackwards about it. ;-)
Don't get me wrong....former social worker here, even used to work in cps, and have always been interested (or even, compelled) to discover my own past. Also a long-time fan of La Boyer, midwifery, AP, etc, tho I came about those from a parent-to-be bent and not a psychoanalytical one. I'm glad Miller is out there, causing people to think about infants, "punishment", child rearing practices, repression of early childhood trauma, methods of psychoanalysis, generational repetition of abusive patterns and the links between all of these and religion, world history, dictators, war.
Still, I have many questions. Don't yet have time to go to her website, but may one day. For instance, I'm not sure what I think about her discussion of forgiveness as denial. I certainly see what she means, but I struggle to determine if it's just that I don't agree with her, or if, as she would say, that very disagreement is a prime indication of my own denial/trauma. A bit too much like fundamentalism of any sort for me, but this sort of work is not digested overnight.
I do also find it interesting that there are hardly any written reviews here. Not sure if it's because of nature of the material (shame causing silence?), or just that this website is geared towards more eloquently educated people than I to yak about literature/fiction.
cosmicloser's review against another edition
2.0
The flowing prose of this book is beautiful. Yet, the content eventually becomes repetitively bland.
valeriebrett's review
2.0
This book had a lot of nuggets of insight & wisdom but was too heavy-handed on biblical references for me, and also I didn’t think it was well-organized or balanced; it jumped around & at times seemed to summarize her other books which I found unnecessary. Also, it’s not too much of a manual for becoming an adult... it’s more about child abuse and how grown people should examine any of their own trauma so as not to pass it on to the next generation. A worthwhile cause, for sure, but the title I found a bit misleading.
More...