The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting

by Alice Miller

Book Overview

Never before has world-renowned psychoanalyst Alice Miller examined so persuasively the long-range consequences of childhood abuse on the body. Using the experiences of her patients along with the biographical stories of literary giants such as Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, and Marcel Proust, Miller shows how a child's humiliation, impotence, and bottled rage will manifest itself as adult illness--be it cancer, stroke, or other debilitating diseases...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393328635
• ISBN13: 9780393328639
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Uncovered a lot of truths

I found this book highly illuminating and definitely worth the read. Through every section in the book I found myself thinking about how my own childhood experiences related to the points the author made. I’m not sure if I fully believe that the development of diseases is solely linked to childhood trauma and allowing one’s parents to control your life well into adulthood. That being said I would highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with their mental health, feeling lost, or simply wanting to discover more truths about themselves and how their childhood is linked to their adult behavior. This was recommended to me as an alternative for The Body Keeps The Score since the author is known to have some problematic beliefs that influence the message of that book. It’s incredibly heavy since it touches on some intense childhood trauma and the development of eating disorders, but if that’s something that you know won’t trigger your own trauma then it’s really worth getting through.

The Body Never Lies

Anyone who believes that they have suffered at the mercy of parents who were less than nurturing ought to read this book, especially if they think and/or feel that they have challenges "moving on." Be prepared to think for yourself.

The Body Never Lies by Alice Miller

Fantastic. Alice Miller provides an insightful account of how unresolved childhood trauma can manifest itself in the body in the form of physical illness. Her views on traditional Christianity beliefs such as forgiveness is VERY interesting (although some may find this contraversial!). Great read for anyone whether you're a psychology student or someone trying to make sense of your own childhood experiences.

One of her best!

I believe in this work. I look forward to a world of people who have healed from childhood abuse. Can you imagine an adult praising and honoring a stranger who attacked them? Shaming quiet victims is a mistake. It is time for us to stop honoring abusers which Miller says is unnatural and destructive. I really respect her consistent willingness to discuss her own misconceptions on things. She is insightful, well experienced and well educated on the subject. Angela Brinskele, Director of Communications, The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives

A decisive new chapter

I feel that this book is actually stronger than Alice Miller's last two efforts ("Breaking Down The Wall of Silence" and "The Truth Will Set you Free.") I have read all of her books thus far, and was very delighted to page through this new encounter. I have never seen the concept that our emotions, and the 'scars' left by abuse don't simply exist in a little part of our brains; but are found in all the cells of our body, and that in this inextricable link, illnesses can occur when things go wrong. I need only to look back to the way my own body has reacted to deception and cruelty to see how true this is. In her chapter titled 'Carousel,' she revisits, in a way, the fascinating passage in 'Banished Knowledge' where she discussed coming across the poisonous story of little children and the accusative santa clause. This is, in my feeling, one of the best assets of her prose; the ability to make links based on a single experience. The case histories of authors she provides are not the in-depth ones of her earlier books; and indeed, that is exactly what she intended; to spark the readers interest in these biographies and how the writers experienced their abuse which led to the destruction of their bodies. The chapter she wrote on anorexia was actually very enlightening; she really said something important in those pages, and I think her 'fictional diary' was really effective. The relationship to food and emotional nourishment seems quite valid. After reading her book, I really do agree with the premises that "the body never lies," and "deception kills love." I can see more clearly that sacrificing oneself towards the 'benefit' of one's parents is really a destructive, black hole that people who fall in can never truly meet with any form of life or vitality unless they escape it.