In The Truth Will Set You Free Miller returns to the intensely personal tone and
themes of her best-loved work. Only by embracing the truth of our past historie
s can any of us hope to be free of pain in the present, she argues. Miller uses
vivid true stories to reveal the perils of early-childhood mistreatment and the
dangers of mindless obedience to parental will. Drawing on the latest research o
n brain development, she shows how spanking and humiliation produce dangerous le
vels of denial, which leads in turn to emotional blindness and to mental barrier
s that cut off awareness and the ability to learn new ways of acting. If this cy
cle repeats itself, the grown child will perpetrate the same abuse on later gene
rations--a message vitally important, especially given the increasing popularity
of programs like Tough Love and of "child disciplinarians" like James Dobson.
