Diagnosis for Disaster: The Devastating Truth About False Memory Syndrome and Its Impact on Accusers (Paperback)

by Claudette Wassil-Grimm (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Among the spate of recent books on "recovered" memories of alleged childhood sexual abuse, this one stands out because it is structured as a cautionary manual for patients, therapists and for anyone wondering if she or he was sexually abused as a child. The book is filled with interviews and testimonies by individuals, mostly women, who healed from misguided therapy only after they realized that their purported memories of childhood sexual abuse, usually by a parent, were false-fantasies engendered and encouraged by coercive therapists or by pressure from support groups, often using techniques such as free association, hypnosis and trance-like states. Some of the stories involve pseudo-memories of incest thought to be part of satanic ritual abuse, or questionable diagnoses of multiple personality disorder. Wassil-Grimm (Where's Daddy?), a writer on family issues, links together case histories, summaries of research, checklists and self-assessment tests into a clearly written handbook that is also a cogent critique of the excesses of the sexual abuse "recovery movement."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Wassil-Grimm surveys the several voices in the debate over the "recovery" of supposedly repressed memories of sexual abuse in childhood through such techniques as hypnosis and suggestion. She focuses primarily upon why remembering and discussing such memories is so appealing despite possible falsehood and severe damage done to the accused, family members and friends, and ultimately, the accuser. Interviews with women who eventually retracted their claims, reviews of the scholarly literature, participation in conferences, and personal experience constitute the basis for Wassil-Grimm's analysis of the nature of memory, trends and fads in psychology, the false memory debate, and the recent dramatic increases in accusations of ritualized abuse and diagnoses of multiple personality disorder. Wassil-Grimm accords special attention to the claims of The Courage to Heal (2d ed., 1992), which is widely regarded as the handbook of memory recovery. Although well written and organized, displaying Wassil-Grimm's thorough knowledge of the subject, her book is a tough read because of both the complexity of the issues and their emotional charge. Kathryn Carpenter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 386 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Press (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879516380
• ISBN-13: 978-0879516383
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diagnosis for Diaster, October 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Diagnosis for Disaster: The Devastating Truth About False Memory Syndrome and Its Impact on Accusers (Hardcover)

I thought this book was well researched and well written. One of the best on False Memory Syndrome. Even though there are over 60 books out on the subject I believe this is the easiest to read and explains the problem thoroughly. It is not filled with big words and psychological jargon, which would only confuse a reader not versed in this field. Yet it explains the problem in detail and with obvious research into the subject. I liked the way she talked to the families involved in this terrible syndrome and gave helpful analysis and answers to the problem. It was especially helpful the way she gave 16 reasons why anyone would believe anything so painful, if it were not true. Then there were appropriate chapters to explain each reason more fully. This is the only book I have seen on this subject to do it this way. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the subject more thoroughly.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diagnosis for Diaster, October 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Diagnosis for Disaster: The Devastating Truth About False Memory Syndrome and Its Impact on Accusers (Hardcover)

I thought this book was well researched and well written. One of the best on False Memory Syndrome. Even though there are over 60 books out on the subject I believe this is the easiest to read and explains the problem thoroughly. It is not filled with big words and psychological jargon, which would only confuse a reader not versed in this field. Yet it explains the problem in detail and with obvious research into the subject. I liked the way she talked to the families involved in this terrible syndrome and gave helpful analysis and answers to the problem. It was especially helpful the way she gave 16 reasons why anyone would believe anything so painful, if it were not true. Then there were appropriate chapters to explain each reason more fully. This is the only book I have seen on this subject to do it this way. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the subject more thoroughly.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One who knows, April 3, 2008

By	Aimee L. Elliot (Cedar Rapids, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a "survivor" of bogus repressed memory therapy, I have to strongly recommend this book. It also scares me to read the reviews of those who defend repressed memory and therapists who offer this type of quack therapy. I missed 6 years of my life believing in this crap because I trusted my therapist. I beg anyone who is being told that they have repressed memories, and that their parents were evil and a bunch of other nonsense, get out of there now, and read this book. Don't you find it kind of odd and suspicious that all of a sudden after a therapist tells you that you are D.I.D and have repressed memories, you suddenly remember all kinds of horrible abuse that you suffered as a child. Don't blame yourself if this has happened to you, these therapists know how to make you actually believe this crap because they get you dependant on them. I just wish I would have read this book before I got caught up in all this crap. Thankfully, there were people out there to help me finally see the deception. Thanks to the author for this book, also. It has not only helped me, but my family to understand what happened to me.