The Myth of Repressed Memory

False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse

“Gripping reading.” —Scientific American

“A disturbing new book.” —Newsweek

“Sure to arouse controversy:  Proponents of the validity of repressed memories will see this as anathema;  others will applaud the reasonable and restrained approach to a touchy subject." 
—Kirkus Reviews

“This eye-opening book makes a compelling argument for caution." 
—Publishers Weekly

"An unassailable demolition of repressed memory therapy, the greatest scandal in modern psychiatry."
—Book World (December 4, 1994, "Most Notable Books" section) 

"The descriptions the authors give of the 'therapeutic' practices by which memories are recovered are a frightening indictment of the burgeoning therapy industry, of its heads-I-win and tails-you-lose approach to moral rectitude, and of its capacities for self-delusion."
—The New York Times Book Review

"[A] thoughtful, scholarly book...concerned with exposing the damage caused by, and the falsity of, the practice of recovered-memory therapy."
—The Washington Post Book World

"As a cognitive psychologist, Loftus has acquired extensive insight into the malleability of memory. For example, her research has shown that false traumatic childhood 'memories' can be readily induced in adults, who then enrich the implanted memory with detail and emotion. The results of such studies and a total lack of evidence of memory repression lead Loftus and other eminent psychologists to attribute the wide prevalence of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse and satanic ritual abuse to therapist bias. Coauthor Ketcham and Loftus describe the anguish of the accused and of the families shattered by disastrous combinations of ill-trained, overzealous therapists, suggestibility of vulnerable patients, and group-therapy pressure to exhume and share monstrous memories. They neither dispute the reality of childhood sexual abuse nor are they 'in denial.' Highly recommended."
—Booklist

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