My lie, a true story of false memory, Meredith Maran
Type
Label
My lie, a true story of false memory, Meredith Maran
Language
eng
resource.biographical
autobiography
Index
no index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
My lie
Oclc number
555629677
Responsibility statement
Meredith Maran
Sub title
a true story of false memory
Summary
"Meredith Maran lived a daughter's nightmare: she accused her father of sexual abuse, then realized, nearly too late, that he was innocent. During the 1980s and 1990s, tens of thousands of Americans became convinced that they had repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse, and then, decades later, recovered those memories in therapy. Journalist, mother, and daughter Meredith Maran was one of them. Her accusation and estrangement from her father caused her sons to grow up without their only grandfather, divided her family into those who believed her and those who didn't, and led her to isolate herself on "Planet Incest," where "survivors" devoted their lives, and life savings, to recovering memories of events that had never occurred. Maran unveils her family's devastation and ultimate redemption against the backdrop of the sex-abuse scandals, beginning with the infamous McMartin preschool trial, that sent hundreds of innocents to jail--several of whom remain imprisoned today. Exploring the psychological, cultural, and neuroscientific causes of this modern American witch-hunt, My Lie asks: how could so many people come to believe the same lie at the same time? What has neuroscience discovered about the brain's capacity to create false memories and encode false beliefs? What are the "big lies" gaining traction in American culture today--and how can we keep them from taking hold?My Lie is a wrenchingly honest, unexpectedly witty, and profoundly human story that proves the personal is indeed political--and the political can become painfully personal"--, Provided by publisher
Table Of Contents
Prologue: the Same thing happened to me -- Introduction: one in three -- 1576-1982 -- Desperate housewife -- In feminism we trust -- 1983-1993 -- Please question your child (and your childhood) -- Breaking the silence -- Daddy can't come home again -- Remember -- Did he or didn't he? -- In therapy we trust -- 1994-2009 -- Doubt -- Deprogramming -- What [crossed out] was I thinking? -- Eternal sunshine of the recovered mind. -- In neuroscience we trust -- Amends -- Epilogue: grace -- Book group reading guide
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