The Drama of the Gifted Child is one of those rare gems that isn’t afraid to cut deep into the heart of the psyche. Alice Miller, an esteemed therapist, explains that those who grew up with parents or caretakers that disrespected, neglected or abused them have developed a false sense of self. The child becomes molded into what the parents want them to be, rather than accepting the child for who he or she is. This is also true for those of us who were praised for our accomplishments rather than for who we really are.

Seems really dated and simplistic, which, given all we've learned about depression since the advent of SSRI's, isn't all that surprising for a book almost 40 years old. I found it useful more for how it helps illustrate the evolution of psychotherapy and how it helped me understand certain things about how therapists I saw approached their practice than for any insight it offered into myself. Prisoners of Childhood (1981) ISBN 0-465-06287-3, which is The Drama of the Gifted Child under a different title I wrote this review a bit too fast. I AM a gifted child who is STILL sacrificed on my own altar of ridiculously high expectations! I shoulda "stayed, rather, on Earth." Too you can't explain away a person with just one cause, and no one is a pure Narcissist, nor should anyone be a total victim.I read this in my mid-30s and at the time, I found this to be the most helpful book I had ever read. Narcissism is fully explained - though many may think that is just another word for self-centeredness - in its many complexities. The title is misleading and apparently renamed for marketing purposes. The child who is victimized by the Narcissist is gifted because they deal with such heavy challenges and become over-sensitive to others' needs, always eager to please, while suppressing their own self-knowledge, emotions and needs. Her most recent book, Pictures of My Life, was published in 2006; an informal autobiography in which the writer explores her emotional process from painful childhood, through the development of her theories and later insights, told via the display and discussion of 66 of her original paintings, painted in the years 1973 to 2005. a b Philipp Oehmke; Elke Schmitter (3 May 2010). "Mein Vater, ja, diesbezüglich"[My father, yes, regarding this]. Der Spiegel (in German). Miller's model of family relation ships has become a landmark for everyone from child-abuse professionals to the self-helping public. More than anyone else, Miller put people in touch with their "inner child", encouraging them to own "their own truth" - by which she meant the truth of their abuse.

This is a gracious understatement, with more specific details given by her son, Martin, clearly still traumatized and understandably emotional from his confusing, difficult childhood. Obviously, I'm paraphrasing, but it's a good book, and very direct/short. The one complaint I have so far is that she gives advice for confronting your childhood as an adult, but she doesn't give advice on how to raise kids even though she shares a lot of the don'ts. Acabo de leer este libro sin haber leído ninguno de los escritos por la protagonista. Me invalida este detalle para emitir mis impresiones? No necesariamente, creo. The voice of parents is the voice of gods, for to their children they are heaven's lieutenants.” - William Shakespeare If someone did that shit now, they'd lose their license. It's completely unethical--and with good reason. While there are certainly people who have recovered memories of being molested in early childhood--one of my good friends experienced that, and it's the only thing that explains certain aspects of his life--there are others who invented memories to please aggressive therapists like the unethical, wrong-headed person I worked with.These kids, now grown up, relive their childhood nightmares of being put in a spiritual coffin by their controlling guardians. And at the end, I had to let my ex go, and Alice too had to let her son go because once a person is an adult, no one, not even the mother, can make up for what we need as children and we didn’t get. Alice Miller εισχωρεί στα μύχια της παιδικής ψυχοσύνθεσης και καταγράφει τον τρόπο που αυτή επηρεάζει τη μετέπειτα πορεία προς την ενηλικίωση. Κατάθλιψη, διπολικές διαταρραχές, ιδέες μεγαλείου, επιθετικές και/ή αυτοκαταστροφικές συμπεριφορές, όλα δείχνουν να έχουν τις βάσεις τους σε μια δυσλειτουργική παιδική ηλικία. Μέσα από την πολυετή πείρα της ως ψυχαναλύτρια, η συγγραφέας παραθέτει απτά παραδείγματα από την κλινική της εμπειρία με γλωσσα κατανοητή και με πολλές επεξηγηματικές παραπομπές, χωρίς να γίνεται ούτε στιγμή υπερβολικά τεχνική ούτε όμως και απλοϊκή, βρίσκοντας επομένως τη χρυσή τομή μεταξύ του επιστημονικού εγχειριδίου και της λογοτεχνικής παρουσίασης που απευθύνεται τόσο σε ανυποψίαστους όσο και σε "ψαγμένους" αναγνώστες, απλούς ανθρώπους και ειδικούς, ασθενείς και θεραπευτές. Εξαιρετική δουλειά. It is following a conversation with Mike Langlois, LICSW, who has been one of my long-distance friends and mentors for a good part of my social work journey, that I was introduced to this book. Thank you, Mike 🙂 Have no doubt that Alice Miller's son Martin Miller was a trigger for all of Alice Miller's books. And if he had not been born we would not have had Alice Miller's enlightened books to help us liberate ourselves from the emotional prison of our own childhoods. And I would probably be dead NOW or still living in an emotional prison. He is just like a double-edged sword.

A succinct and insightful book about the effects of child abuse. While childhood mistreatment may give kids certain gifts - such as increased empathy and greater achievement - these strengths come at a great cost. Only by confronting and honoring their pasts can these children rise above their unmet needs. Alice Miller writes with conviction and compassion, and I most enjoyed how she emphasizes the hope all of us gifted children should have: we can all lead fulfilling and meaningful lives, with effort and kindness to ourselves. I feel Alice Miller’s experience is very similar to mine. My love for my ex and my desire to help him made me look for help so we could save our relationship and in the process I freed myself. Briefly, Miller describes the narcissistic personality disturbance. Here narcissistic is used not in the broad sense of vain, being in love with yourself etc. This narcissism is an internalisation of the great expectations of one's parents, the consequent lasting feelings of inadequacy and drive to greater and greater successes (that leave one hollow). Narcissus did not fall in love with himself, but with a false reflection of himself. Your vitality will be reborn, if you follow this book’s many stories into deep mourning for your lost inner child.A therapist told me the key to my healing was to discover my early childhood trauma. I was like, "Nah, I was a pretty happy little kid; the shit hit the fan around the time my body started changing and boys started getting mean and scary in sixth and seventh grade." She flat-out told me, "You were traumatized as a child, probably through a molestation, and you have to uncover the memory of the trauma." There are milder forms of childhood trauma as well. Hearing parents argue constantly can be traumatic to the sensitive intelligent child who is overly attuned to her parents’ emotions. Witnessing domestic violence is another source of trauma for the child. Fue una víctima de la guerra, logró sobrevivir a una masacre, vivió la perdida de integrantes de su familia y tuvo un matrimonio desdichado. Múltiples experiencias traumáticas dejan huellas, en ese caso profundas, sin embargo no mataron su lado creativo. the additional chapter that Martin added left me breathless and i would recommend that anyone and everyone reads this - those of us who have somehow survived tyrants for parents and those that want to understand what it can look like. i read the letter to Martin from Alice out loud to my spouse and we spoke about how similar this is to my parents delusions. i then read the book and the last chapter i read out loud to my wife. it left us both breathless. it has given me something to wedge between the grief and the rage, a reminder that the truth will make her entrance one day. it wont be until my parents have gone because it isnt for them.