Book and video/movie reviews made possible in part
by John Speyrer. www.primal-page.com and by other writers.

Book review list

The Lived Experience of Violation: How Abused Children Become Unhealthy Adults
by: Anna Luise Kirkengen - Translated from Norwegian by Eugenie Sommer Shaw

This powerful book documents in compelling detail, and with great compassion, the long-term consequences of early life abuse and neglect as they affect health throughout life. The book highlights the importance of eliciting each person’s story as a means of achieving relief from the emotional and physiological consequences of early life adversity. In so doing, the book also provides a provocative reflection upon the relationship between brain and mind. Furthermore, it argues that modern biomedical science needs to elaborate a more sophisticated appraisal of an individual’s reflections upon salient lifetime experiences, since they are key for understanding how these experiences affect health through biological pathways that, on the one hand, promote adaptation and, on the other hand, can be dysregulated and cause damage. (Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Alfred E. Mirsky Professor, Rockefeller University, New York)

Dr. Kirkengen has produced a remarkable and revolutionary work. She has validated the personal experiences of abused persons in a totally new way. She has drawn upon a philosophy of phenomenology to establish the truth of the “lived experience”. She brings the “phenomena” of lived experience closer to the “noumena” that might have been observed by uninvolved witnesses had such persons been secretly watching the abusive events that affected the people she describes. This book discards conventional clinical processes and conventional medical research processes for the assessment of sick persons and their conditions. Conventional epidemiology, also takes its lumps. Conventional medical thinkers may have some difficulty with digestion of Kirkengen’s conceptualizations. This book should be read by all medical doctors, who have an interest in violence and abuse. Most of them will find it very useful in framing the problems that their patients bring to them. It will also be useful in producing precise definitions of the specific acts that our society must learn to prevent if we are to get healthy. (David L. Chadwick, MD, Director emeritus, founder of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families, Rady Children’s Hospital and Health Center, San Diego, USA)
more: http://www.zetabooks.com/new-releases/anna-luise-kirkengen-the-lived-experience-of-violation-how-abused-children-become-unhealthy-a.html

The Janov Solution(Aug 2007) indicates that is almost impossible to eradicate deep depression without plunging into the depths of the unconscious where the basis of it all lies. Dr. Janov has found a way to investigate the deep brain system that provides the underpinnings of depression. He has a system to eradicate the pernicious imprinted memories that cause us to be helpless and hopeless in adult life.

Primal Healing (Oct 2006) is Dr. Janov's magnum opus, the culmination of decades of clinical observation and research. Here he melds current research in biology and neurology with his clinical work to produce a definitive thesis regarding how any psychotherapy that uses words as the predominant mode of therapy cannot make profound change.

The Biology of love (Mar 2000) Drawing on years of experience with thousands of patients and a growing body of evidence in neurophysiology, human biology and psychology, Dr. Janov shows how love or the lack of it affects not only our sense of psychological well-being but our physical health and our personalities as well.

Why You Get Sick - How You Get Well (Aug 1996) The culmination of over a decade of research and writing, Why You Get Sick - How You Get Well reveals the hidden forces of the unconscious that conspire against the human system, making us sick emotionally and physically.

To see all Dr. Arthur Janov's books: http://www.primaltherapy.com/books-primal-therapy.php

New release
"Emotional Fitness" Discovering Our Natural Healing Power
by Janice Berger
Emotional Fitness has sold so well that the publisher has re-issued it with a new cover and in a new, more easily handled size.

A General Theory of Love
by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and
Richard Lannon
Vintage Books, 2001
Reviewed by Lynn E. O’Connor,
Professor, The Wright Institute
Associate Clinical Professor, University of California, Berkeley

"awful normal"

The movie "awful normal" shows the emotional turmoil of an adult molested in childhood, who after living with the awareness for 25 years, confronts her molester to seek answers.
This is the answer every childhood abused person asks in the hope of finding some solace, some inner peace.

In the confrontation with the molester, Celesta finally understands the impact of not being protected and validated by her father, who continued his friendship with the molester. She also feels the pain of being betrayed.

After the confrontation with the molester, a burst of tears was the beginning of healing open wounds after many years.

"awful normal" may, on the other hand, trigger memories for those not ready to confront the past.

This movie could provide one way to address hidden, painful experience for everyone who was molested and wishes for a life without pain.

The documentary "awful normal" is a Cinequest Film Festival -Grand Prize Winner. Read more about it, watch the trailer, and purchase the DVD on Cinequest Online http://www.cinequestonline.org/2005/theater/detail_view.php?m=70 or even rent it on Netflix.

If you would like to comment write to admin@aaacworld.org

Self focuses autobiography on his abuse
By David Cauthen
A gauge of the extent of mistreatment by Self's father and his feelings toward his father appears in the first sentence of the book, which says: "From the age of three I had only one ambition: not to be like my father. I hated everything about him."

One Cosmos under God: The Unification of Matter, Life, Mind and Spirit,
by Robert W. Godwin, Ph.D., Paragon House, St Paul, MN 55114, pps. 315, $19.95
Dr. Godwin is discussing the origins of life and of the human mind. He believes that Darwinian evolution cannot account for how we acquired language and an appreciation of the arts and writes that humans are the result of evolution -- but not just physical evolution but emotional evolution as well. This emotional evolution occurred, he believes, because of the intimate relationship of the mother and her baby.

The Futility of Punishment
Thoughts about Kim Ki-Duk's movie “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring”
by Barbara Rogers, author of “screams from childhood"

God Squad
By Paddy Doyle
Paddy Doyle and the disturbing questions to be answered
Comment by: Justin Keating, former Irish Government Minister

Rescuing history
Comment by: Ronán M Conroy - British Medical Journal

Reclaiming Your Life
A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Regression Therapy to Overcome the Effects of Childhood Abuse,
by Jean Jenson

Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill
The Story of Mary Bell, Gitta Sereny
Reviewed by Henry Lawton

Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes
by James Gilligan, M.D.

Broken Child
by Marcia Cameron

High Risk: Children Without A Conscience
by Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A.McKelvey

Guilty By Reason of Insanity
by Dorothy O. Lewis, M.D. 1998

Comment to: "Gagged" by Juergen Schubert
will be published in English soon.
Original "mondtot" von Jürgen Schubert. ISBN 3-88864-288-4 Verlag VAS

Come Here
A Man Overcomes the Tragic Aftermath of Childhood Sexual Abuse,
Dr. Richard Berendzen, (co-authored with Laura Palmer)
Reviewed by Brian Vanderlip

Haunting Shadows from the Past
by Sieglinde W. Alexander
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Deep Feeling, Deep Healing
The Heart, Mind, and Soul of Getting Well
by Andy Bernay-Roman #116
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Divinely Inspire
Spiritual Awakening of A Soul
by Jerry J. Pollock, Ph.D. #115
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Emotional Life of Nations
by Lloyd deMause -
Review by Robert Godwin, Ph.D. #114

Neuropsychological Bases of God Beliefs
by Michael A. Persinger, Ph.D. #113
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Origins of Love and Violence & Second Video
Video Tapes by James W. Prescott, Ph.D. #112
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

My Genes Made Me Do It!
A Scientific Look At Sexual Orientation
by Neil and Briar Whitehead, Ph.D. #111
Reviewed by Gerald Carlston

Birth & Relationships
How your Birth Affects your Relationships
by Sondra Ray and Bob Mandel #109
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Rediscovering The True Self
by Ingeborg Bosch #108
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Kangaroo Mother Care
Restoring the Original Paradigm For Infant Care and Breastfeeding
by Nils Bergman, M.D.
Video Review by John A. Speyrer and Pat Törngren

A. I.
Haley Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards
Directed by Steven Spielberg, 2001
Movie Review by Henry Lawton
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Rent Two Films and Let's Talk in the Morning
Using Popular Movies in Psychotherapy
by John W. Hesley & Jan G. Hesley
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Skin Deep
A Mind/Body Program for Healthy Skin
by Ted A. Grossbart, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Natural Child
Parenting From the Heart
by Jan Hunt
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Emotional Fitness
Discovering Our Natural Healing Power
by Janice Berger with Harry Hall Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Truth Will Set You Free
Overcoming Emotional Blindness and Finding Your True Adult Self
by Alice Miller, Ph.D. #101
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Changes of Mind
A Holonomic Theory of the Evolution of Consciousness
by Jenny Wade, Ph.D.
Review by John Rowan

The Mindbody Prescription
Healing the body, healing the pain
by John E. Sarno, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Primal Therapy
A Persistent New Age Therapy
by Martin Gardner In Skeptical Inquiry Magazine Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Dark Night, Early Dawn
Steps to a Deep Ecology of Mind
by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Beyond Death
The Gates of Consciousness
by Stanislav and Christina Grof
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Art of Learning to Love Yourself
by Dr. Cecil G. Osborne
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Treatment of Birth Trauma in Infants & Children
Vol. I - Collected Works
of William R. Emerson, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Pre- and Perinatal Regression Therapy
Vol. II - Collected Works
of William R. Emerson, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Birth Trauma
The Psychological Effects of Obstetrical Interventions
by William R. Emerson, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Power of Now
A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle Reviewed by Derek Cameron
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Towards a New Consciousness
by Arthur Janov, Ph.D.
Primal Pathophysiology by E. Michael Holden, M.D.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research (Articles Review)
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them
by Dr. Susan Forward and Joan Torres,
Men Who Can't Love, by Steven Carter and Julia Sokol,
Women Men Love, Women Men Leave, by Dr. Connell Cowan and Dr. Melvyn Kinder,
Reviewed by Michael F. Shaughnessy, Ph.D.

Psychology of the Future
Lessons From Modern Consciousness Research
by Stanislav Grof, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Nurture Assumption
Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do
Parents Matter Less Than You Think and Peers Matter More
by Judith R. Harris
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Necronomicon
by Hans R. Giger
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Biology of Love
by Arthur Janov, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Bonds of Fire
Rekindling Sexual Rapture
by Alice Rose, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Clinton Syndrome
The President and the Self-Destructive Nature of Sexual Addiction
by Jerome Levin
Review by Daniel Dervin, Ph.D.

Faith of the Fatherless
The Psychology of Atheism
by Paul C. Vitz, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Lüscher Color Test
by Dr. Max Lüscher
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Remembering Our Home
Healing Hurts & Receiving Gifts from Conception to Birth
by Dennis and Shelia Linn, Matthew Linn, S.J., and William Emerson, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Million-Dollar Mermaid
Autobiography of Esther Williams
with D. Diehl
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Cries Unheard
Why Children Kill - The Story of Mary Bell
by Gitta Sereny - Review by Henry Lawton
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Guilty By Reason of Insanity
by Dorothy O. Lewis, M. D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Through Time Into Healing
by Brian L. Weiss, M.D
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

My Genes Made Me Do It!
A Scientific Look At Sexual Orientation
by Neil and Briar Whitehead, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Born Unwanted
Developmental Effects of Denied Abortion
Edited by H. P. David et als
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Remembering Your Life Before Birth
How Your Womb Memories Have Shaped Your Life and How to Heal Them
by Michael Gabriel
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Journey Toward Complete Recovery
by Michael Picucci, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

When Food Is Love
Exploring the Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy
by Geneen Roth
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Violence
Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes
by James Gilligan, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Frank Lake's Maternal-Fetal Distress Syndrome
An Analysis
by Stephen M. Maret, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Paths of Life - Seven Scenarios
by Alice Miller, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Panacea! - The Ultimate Alternative?
by Doyle P. Henderson
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Enduring Effects of Prenatal Experience
Echos From the Womb
by Ludwig Janus M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Ecstatic Journey
The Transforming Power of Mystical Experience
by Sophy Burnham
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Tears and Tantrums
What To Do When Babies and Children Cry
by Aletha J. Solter Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Cure By Crying
by Thomas A. Stone
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Broken Child
by Marcia Cameron
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Food for Love
Healing the Food, Sex, Love & Intimacy Relationship
by Janet Greeson, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Why You Get Sick and How You Get Well
The Healing Power of Feelings
by Arthur Janov Ph.D.
(Review by Stephen Khamsi, Ph.D.)
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Imprints
The Lifelong Effects of the Birth Experience
by Arthur Janov, Ph.D.,
Review by Arnold Buchheimer, Ph.D.

Reclaiming Your Life
A Step-By-Step Guide To Using Regression Therapy To Overcome
The Effects of Childhood Abuse
by Jean Jenson M.S.W.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Making Sense of Suffering
The Healing Confrontation With Your Own Past
by J. Konrad Stettbacher Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Beyond All Reason
by Morag Coate
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Touching Is Healing
by Jules Older Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Stormy Search For the Self
by Christina and Stanislav Grof, M. D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Aware Baby
A New Approach to Parenting
by Aletha J. Solter, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Helping Young Children Flourish
by Aletha J. Solter, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

How To Become a Schizophrenic
The Case Against Biological Psychiatry
by John Modrow
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Facing the Wolf
Inside the Process of Deep Feeling Therapy
by Theresa Sheppard Alexander
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Waking the Tiger
Healing Trauma
by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Speak of the Ghost
In the Name of Emotion Literacy
by Pamela Sackett
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

In Search of the Lost Mother of Infancy
by Lawrence Hedges, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Homosexuality
A Freedom Too Far
by Charles W. Socarides -
Review by Lloyd deMause

Love's Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy
by Irvin D. Yalom, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Breathwork Experience
Exploration and Healing in Nonordinary States of Consciousness
by Kylea Taylor
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Soul Murder
The Effects of Child Abuse and Deprivation
by Leonard Shengold, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Circumcision
The Hidden Trauma
by Ronald Goldman, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Transcendent Child
by Lillian Rubin
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Catharsis in Healing, Ritual, and Drama
by T. J. Scheff, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Primal Wound
A Transpersonal View of Trauma, Addiction and Growth
by John Firman and Ann Gila
Reviewed by John Rowan

The Pornographer's Grief and Other Tales of Human Sexuality
by Joseph Glenmullen, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Primal Wound
Understanding the Adoptive Child
by Nancy Verrier
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Fire in the Brain
Clinical Tales of Hallucinations
by Ronald K. Siegel, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Unchained Memories
True Stories of Traumatic Memories, Lost and Found
by Lenore Terr, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Drama of the Gifted Child
The Search For the True Self
by Alice Miller
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Myth of Repressed Memory
by Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D. and Katherine Ketcham #31
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

In the Middle of Things
By Michael Rubin
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

LSD Psychotherapy
Exploring the Frontiers of the Hidden Mind
by Stanislav Grof, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Listening to Prozac
by Peter D. Kramer, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Talking Back to Prozac
by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Understanding Your Past
The Key to Your Future
by Dr. Cecil Osborne
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Lost Daughters
Recovered Memory Therapy & the People It Hurts
by Reinder Van Til
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Catharsis In Psychotherapy
by Michael P. Nichols Ph.D. and Melvin Zax, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Trauma and Recovery
by Judith L. Herman, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Therapy Gone Mad
by Carol Lynn Mithers
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Holding Time
by Martha G. Welch, M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

High Risk
Children Without a Conscience
by Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A. McKelvey
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Type C Connection
The Behavioral Links to Cancer and Your Health
by Lydia Temoshok, Ph.D., and Henry Drher
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

If Someone Speaks, It Gets Lighter
Dreams and the Reconstruction of Infant Trauma
by Lynda Share #18
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Separate Lives
Why Siblings Are So Different
by Judy Dunn and Robert Plomin
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Psychobabble
Fast Talk and Quick Cure In An Era of Feeling
by R. D. Rosen
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Come Here
A Man Overcomes the Tragic Aftermath of Childhood Sexual Abuse
by Richard Berendzen, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Babies Remember Birth
by David Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Toxic Parents
Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life
by Susan Forward, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Coming Back
A Psychiatrist Explores Past-Life Journeys
by Raymond A. Moody, Jr. M.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Home By Choice
Facing the Effects of Mother's Absence
by Brenda Hunter, Ph.D.
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Banished Knowledge
Facing Childhood Injuries
by Alice Miller
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Beyond Therapy, Beyond Science
A New Model For Healing the Whole Person
by Anne Wilson Schaef
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Primal Connections
How Our Experiences From Conception to Birth Influence Our Emotions, Behavior, and Health
by Elizabeth Noble
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Gentle Birth Book
A Practical Guide to LeBoyer Family-Centered Delivery
by Nancy Berezin
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Crazy For God
by Christopher Edwards
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

For Your Own Good
Hidden Cruelty In Child Rearing and the Roots of Violence
by Alice Miller
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Emotional Flooding
P. T. Olsen, Editor
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Darkness Visible
A Memoir of Madness
by William A. Styron
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

The Foundations of Psychohistory
by Lloyd deMause
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

When God Becomes a Drug
Breaking the Chains of Religious Addiction and Abuse
by Father Leo Booth
Reviewed by John A. Speyrer

Moore to read in archive