The bestselling book on childhood trauma and the enduring effects of repressed anger and pain Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? This wise and profound book has provided thousands of readers with an answer—and has helped them to apply it to their own lives. Far too many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs, and memories skillfully in order to meet our parents' expectations and win their "love." Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted' in the title, I had in mind neither children who receive high grades in school nor children talented in a special way. I simply meant all of us who have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt even to unspeakable cruelty by becoming numb… Without this 'gift' offered us by nature, we would not have survived." But merely surviving is not enough. The Drama of the Gifted Child helps us to reclaim our life by discovering our own crucial needs and our own truth. Reviews: "Rare and compelling in its compassion and its unassuming eloquence...her examples are so vivid and so ordinary they touch the hurt child in us all"—The New York Magazine "An unpretentious little book with an amazing impact...Many readers find themselves portrayed with an accuracy and empathy that seem uncanny, as if the author had been a silent, unseen witness to their childhood [and] their innermost and secret selves."—Vogue "Narcissism has rarely been written about with the clarity and quiet insights of this modest, thought-provoking work."—Washington Post Book World "Full of wisdom and perception."—The New Republic Table of Contents The Drama of the Gifted Child and How We Became Psychotherapists The Poor Rich Child The Lost World of Feelings In Search of the True Self The Therapist's History The Golden Brain Depression and Grandiosity: Two Related Forms of Denial The Vicissitudes of the Child's Needs The Illusion of Love Depressive Phases During Therapy The Inner Prison A Social Aspect of Depression The Legend of Narcissus The Vicious Circle of Contempt Humiliation for the Child, Disrespect for the Weak, and Where It Goes from There Working with Contempt in Therapy Depravity as "Evil" in Hermann Hesse's Childhood World The Mother as Society's Agent During the First Years of Life The Loneliness of the Contemptuous Achieving Freedom from Contempt and Respecting Life About the Author: Alice Miller (1923-2010) achieved worldwide recognition for her work on the causes and effects of childhood traumas. She was also the author of many books, including The Truth Will Set You Free, Banished Knowledge, Breaking Down the Wall of Silence, Thou Shalt Not Be Aware, and For Your Own Good. |