A review by uosdwisrdewoh
Becoming Attached: Unfolding the Mystery of the Infant-Mother Bond and Its Impact on Later Life by Robert Karen

4.0

In this wonderfully written account of the growth and development of attachment theory in psychology, Robert Karen patiently outlines the main figures and the competing schools of thought that went into the still-growing field explaining how children attain their sense of selves and their psychological development. In other hands, I could definitely see the long account of academic debates becoming tedious, but Karen guides the reader through the morass with a sure hand, drawing connections between figures like John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, and Alan Sroufe, and clearly detailing their research and theories. It's about a lot more than monkeys and their wire mothers--although that's touched upon as well--and it's all covered in meticulous, well-researched, but never overwhelming, detail.

Through this account, you get a multifaceted view of the way that early environments shape, and even distort, one's psyche. Throughout this sensitive book, one can't help but reflect on one's own past with a new perspective.

Thoroughly engaging on more than one level.