Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child (Paperback)

~ (Author, Introduction), Hildegarde Hannum (Translator), Hunter Hannum (Translator), Lloyd deMause (Preface) "IT is of course not classical psychoanalysis alone that suppresses the question of how parents consciously, or more often unconsciously, treat their children in the..." (more)
Key Phrases: early childhood reality, first attachment figures, poisonous pedagogy, Franz Kafka, Gifted Child, Lord God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Miller parts company with Freud on the origins of children's fantasies in this progressive study of repressed memory. Forget the Oedipus complex. Miller reasons that when children suffer abuse, their feelings of pain and rage have nowhere to go in a society that esteems parental power over them as a natural right. Children have no choice but to internalize the anguish, creating a wellspring of fantasy material. This book offers a fresh take on how the unconscious retains memories of childhood and, without appropriate intervention, generates emotional ills and destructive behavior. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A provactive critique of traditional therapy's view of childhood . . . This is explosive stuff. I can't imagine anyone coming away from this book without several newfound discoveries about herself and her relation to her parents."--Nancy Evans, Glamour

"Thou Shalt Not Be Aware is that rarest of gems, a highly creative and exciting work which throws a multifaceted light upon the development of human nature in the Western World."--Ashley Montagu

"Alice Miller is not out to 'hang the bastards,' but rather to help create a world of self-conscious and self-loving individuals who don't need, want or know how to abuse others."--Shelia Koren, San Francisco Chronicle

"It is timely. It is powerful. It is painful . . . absorbing, enlightening and provoking."--Louise Lione, Charlotte Observer
-- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1 edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374525439
• ISBN-13: 978-0374525439
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #229,822 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone raised by other than perfect parents!, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This is an incredibly liberating book. Ms. Miller is the strongest child advocate ever. She rejects the concept that children have power over adults (a la Lolita) and lets us see the true balance of power between children and their primary caretakers (which explains why over 3,000 children a year are murdered by their adult caretakers). All the guilt that parents lay on children for making them unhappy is revealed as the oppresion that it is. Finally, someone who doesn't insist that children (even adult ones) sacrifice themselves to the unresolved needs of their parents. Reading this book is a truly cathartic experience.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please make this book part of all psych studies curriculm, July 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Thou Shalt Not Be Aware (Meridian) (Paperback)

God bless her...this book finally pin pointed the frustration I felt with "shrinks" and other "institutions". So credible is Alice Miller AND yet why isn't this woman front page news. After an injurious experience with a devout Freudian I am sure his genious did more harm than good. What courage A. Miller had to stand up and fight. Keep on excavating..there is hope with people like her in this world!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank God for Alice Miller!, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Thou Shalt Not Be Aware (Meridian) (Paperback)

Alice Miller has gotten through her pain and is being a true advocate by helping the rest of us through ours. The book, made me laugh, cry, gasp, and scream out loud. I read Drama of the Gifted Child first, and then this, and have read seven of her other books. I especially enjoy the personal references in all her books. This book was special to me because it uncovered the 'poisonous pedagomy' in my life, that had been there all the time. I did not even know it until I read this book. It told all about my life and how to get better. I wish I could have read this book years ago - I may not have to have been so miserable for so long! I am truly grateful to have found the works of Alice Miller. She is an inspiration and a mentor!!!