Are horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim’s memory? Or does the mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness? How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and influence criminal trials and civil suits. This book, by a clinician who is also a laboratory researcher, is the first comprehensive, balanced analysis of the clinical and scientific evidence bearing on this issue―and the first to provide definitive answers to the urgent questions at the heart of the controversy. Synthesizing clinical case reports and the vast research literature on the effects of stress, suggestion, and trauma on memory, Richard McNally arrives at significant conclusions, first and foremost that traumatic experiences are indeed unforgettable. Though people sometimes do not think about disturbing experiences for long periods of time, traumatic events rarely slip from awareness for very long; furthermore, McNally reminds us, failure to think about traumas―such as early sexual abuse―must not be confused with amnesia or an inability to remember them. In fact, the evidence for repressed memories of trauma―or even for repression at all―is surprisingly weak. A magisterial work of scholarship, panoramic in scope and nonpartisan throughout, this unfailingly lucid work will prove indispensable to anyone seeking to understand how people remember trauma. “Here we have the most comprehensive and sober treatment yet undertaken of this sensitive and provocative topic. From the clinic to the laboratory, from psychotherapy to cognitive science, McNally considers the broad and often discordant literature about how people remember and forget traumatic experiences. The result is a masterly review of the evidence that will be an essential resource for mental health professionals, social workers, lawyers, and scientists interested in the psychological effects of trauma.” ― Larry R. Squire, University of California School of Medicine, San Diego “Richard McNally has given us an incisive, lucid and remarkably comprehensive review and analysis of the conditions that produce lasting memories of traumatic experiences. It is a benchmark book that should be read by anyone who is interested in the consequences of emotional trauma.” ― James L. McGaugh, University of California, Irvine “A stimulating, erudite, wry, dispassionate overview of an impassioned battleground. No better analysis exists.” ― Donald F. Klein, Columbia University “What happens to the mind after severe trauma? Can memories of terrible experiences be repressed only to be recovered at a later date? Richard McNally draws on his encyclopedic knowledge of evidence from cognitive, behavioral, and neuroscience to answer these troubling questions, among the most difficult ever faced by psychologists, psychotherapists, and families. Anyone who wants to go behind the headlines and polemics about repressed memories will be enthralled by this book.” ― David H. Barlow, Boston University “Richard McNally calls this theory of amnesia "psychiatric folklore." As a therapist and a professor of psychology at Harvard, he has spent years studying the effects of trauma on people's mental processes--including memory. He is on top of the research and has done some of it himself. The investigational literature is vast, and Remembering Trauma covers virtually all of it...Elegant and impassioned. [This book] makes a supposedly complex topic simple. Or at least simple enough to make readers wonder about the ready acceptance of a notion that goes against common sense and experience.” ― Debbie Nathan , Washington Post “McNally...is both a clinician who studies anxiety disorders and one of the leading scientific investigators in the field of trauma and memory. Remembering Trauma is an exhaustive review of the scientific research and clinical evidence pertaining to trauma and memory, including what is known about dreams and nightmares, flashbacks, repression, dissociation, amnesia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.” ― Carol Tavris , Times Literary Supplement “There are those occasional books that restore faith in reason, whose authors have the courage to take on the professional and scientific ideologies of the age. Remembering Trauma , by Richard McNally, is such a book...I recommend this book to all those working in the field of memory and trauma and to lay readers with an interest in the intriguing field of psychological amnesia. McNally has set a standard for application of experimental and observational data to notions and hypotheses about memory and trauma. The book informs the current public and professional debates, clarifies battling ideologies, and avoids the 'political correctness' that has been so damaging to scientific inquiry. The reader, whether lay or professional, will emerge more knowledgeable and m