The Myth of Repressed Memory

"Astute, scientifically informed, and compassionate towards the movement's casualties."—The New York Review of Books

"The descriptions [of] the 'therapeutic' practices by which memories are recovered are a frightening indictment of at least some members of the burgeoning industry."—The New York Times Book Review

"[A] thoughtful, scholarly book . . . concerned with exposing the damage caused by, and the falsity of, the practice of recovered-memory therapy."—The Washington Post Book World

"The best book I have read on these phenomena."—Boston Book Review

"Gripping reading."—Scientific American

"Loftus has been an inventive and prolific investigator of memory's foibles . . . This book shows the false side of recovered memories, and their horrifying consequences."—The New England Journal of Medicine

"This eye-opening book makes a compelling argument for caution."—Publishers Weekly

"Loftus argues that an incest-recovery culture . . . has induced thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of women to falsely accuse their parents."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A reasonable and restrained approached to a touchy subject."—Kirkus Review

"Presents several in-depth case studies of how families have been torn apart by child sexual abuse cases based on what Loftus considers the scientifically suspect concept of repressed memory. Drawing on her long experimental research into the nature of memory, she says it is not like video tape, storing images until they are replayed, but is a creative process related to dreams, creative writing, imagination, and wishful thinking. She accuses overzealous and ideological therapists of manipulating the memory of vulnerable women and creating a hysteria similar to the witch hunts."—Booknews