Trying To Remember

"Paul R. McHugh delivers a first-hand account of his battle against the theory of "repressed sexual memories" in the 1990s and closes with an argument against today's excessive diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Driven by a deep passion to rid psychiatry of nonscientific practices and armed with more than 50 years of teaching, practicing, and investigating in the field, McHugh describes how unrealistic expectations and ineffective treatment were promoted for too long by followers of Sigmund Freud and by practitioners who did not see psychiatry as a subspecialty of medicine - and did not follow the methods and practices that coherent medicine demands. This book is for patients, families, and mental health providers."--BOOK JACKET.

Trying to Remember is a stirring and intimate memoir recounting one family's struggle with the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's on a remarkable woman, Betty Nicholas, and the hope that comes from choosing to remember. Betty's was a troubled life redeemed by hope. A child of the Great Depression, Betty suffered the death of her sister as a child, violation by her brother, her husband off at war, and multiple miscarriages, but remained filled with compassion for over fifty-three years of married life. Its poetry is at once accessible and elegant, creating a moving experience for the reader. This is the story of what Betty remembered, what she forgot, and what those around her remember for her. As she disappears into Alzheimer's, her family learns a great deal more about who she was and what they loved most about her. Trying to Remember is her story of unwavering hope, and theirs.

Dear Reader; I have spent the past 52 years forgetting and remembering one small part of one day of my life that has affected me for my entire life. Memories are tucked away, asleep in your mind waiting for some outside stimuli to awaken them. But what happens to a memory when you have been told over and over it was just a bad dream, yet you really, really know it was not? What happens to your mind, what happens to your life? What happens when the memory does awake and surfaces for a brief time and then returns to sleep, waiting for the next stimuli? My story, my life, my thoughts, my insights are revealed in my book, my autobiography. The day was January 19, 1948; the time was very early morning. I was four years old. I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and discovered my father’s body hanging from a rope tied to a pipe over the toilet. He had committed suicide. I remember this very vividly, even though my mother tried to convince me for the rest of my life that I never saw what happened. My mother even went so far as to make imaginary visits to the hospital every week for five months, bringing me a present each time and telling me it was from my father. How could this have been, he was dead, I saw him hanging? My mother was protecting me, and protecting herself from a tragedy she only could deal with by denying its very existence. And, by doing so, denying me the opportunity to grieve and put the tragedy behind me. My young mind could not cope with this confusion, so my response was hostility towards my mother, hostility that must have been so intense, my mother’s only recourse was to have me institutionalized. Most of my past tragedy has been asleep, except for brief periods: when my daughters each turned four years old, and when I turned 43, the age my father ended his life. When my mother died, at age 88, the trauma once again awakened within me and this time I had this inner energy to discover all that I had either forgotten, repressed, did not know and/or did not understand. Please join me on my emotional journey to rediscover my past, including the agonizing return to where I was institutionalized, realizing and facing the fact that even after all these years, I am a survivor of suicide, and I have all the scars that go along with it. I have been driven to tell my story, a story I never shared with anybody until now. The telling all began with my daughters Elisa and Jenny, age 26 and 24, they never knew how their grandfather died. I had never told them for fear that they would consider suicide in a moment of despair. The only way I felt comfortable telling my story was through the written word. Well, the words just kept coming and coming and soon I had a book! I still don’t know where the energy came from, but it did (I like to think that my mother was guiding me). Looking for answers about suicide, I became involved with the American Association of Suicidology. They encouraged me to tell my story at their annual conference in Los Angeles. It was a very emotional experience, but I learned and so did the psychologists, psychiatrists and other survivors–it was an eye-opener few days! Most importantly this book is dedicated to my mother, whose love, courage and strength–even with her unnecessary denial and repression–had conquered all. I know my autobiography will be as rewarding a journey for you, as it finally has been for me. The American Association of Suicidology Publications Committee has placed my book on their recommended reading list. Judy Raphael Kletter

An award-winning poet and expert in US immigration and asylum law delivers a powerful novel about a daughter's attempt to sustain her family as her father struggles with his mental health. "Lyrical, poignant, and smart, as compassionate and hopeful as it is heartbreaking...a novel you will never forget." -- Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us If she tries, Gabriela can almost remember when her father went off to work . . . when her mother wasn't struggling to undo the damage he caused . . . when a short temper didn't lead to physical violence. But Gabi cannot live in the past, not when one more outburst could jeopardize her family's future. So she trades the life of a normal Miami teenager for a career of carefully managing her father's delusions and guarding her mother's secrets. As Gabi navigates her family's twisting path of lies and revelations, relationships and loss, she finds moments of happiness in unexpected places. Ultimately Gabi must discover the strength she needs to choose what's right for her: serving her parents or a future of her own.

A surprisingly simple way for students to master any subject--based on one of the world's most popular online courses and the bestselling book A Mind for Numbers A Mind for Numbers and its wildly popular online companion course "Learning How to Learn" have empowered more than two million learners of all ages from around the world to master subjects that they once struggled with. Fans often wish they'd discovered these learning strategies earlier and ask how they can help their kids master these skills as well. Now in this new book for kids and teens, the authors reveal how to make the most of time spent studying. We all have the tools to learn what might not seem to come naturally to us at first--the secret is to understand how the brain works so we can unlock its power. This book explains: • Why sometimes letting your mind wander is an important part of the learning process • How to avoid "rut think" in order to think outside the box • Why having a poor memory can be a good thing • The value of metaphors in developing understanding • A simple, yet powerful, way to stop procrastinating Filled with illustrations, application questions, and exercises, this book makes learning easy and fun.

Dr. Seuss imagines a day when all your wishes come true in this classic Beginner Book. Octember the First is the day on which all your most outlandish wishes come true. If March is too dusty and April too gusty, if May is too early and June is too soon, just try to remember the first of Octember, when whatever you are hoping to get will be yours! From a balloon pool in the sky to a pickle tree in your backyard, Please Try to Remember the First of Octember! is a wildly silly story that will have readers laughing—and wishing—out loud. Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

Being kidnapped, raped and betrayed Chelsea's leash for life is almost paper thin. But along comes a man who will almost force her to insanity to erase her dreadful past. Will Patrick's trick work or will her past become her future as well...

This riveting family saga about the son of a Polish-Jewish immigant to Canada is told in 17 short stories that blend tragedy and humor. The overarching figure is Jacob, who loses his mother at three and is raised by his stepmother. His father, from an orthodox Jewish home in Lodz, escapes from the Polish army under bizarre circumstances and searches for a place to settle. After a stint in Germany and Palestine as a chalutz (pioneer), he tries to settle in the US but is hounded as an illegal immigrant and finally finds a home in Montreal, where Jacob is born and bred. After high school, Jacob tries working in his father’s printing shop but finds business not appealing. His parents give him violin lessons, and as a teenager he studies music seriously. Near the end of World War II, Jacob begins his academic career, receiving his BA at McGill and his PhD at Princeton. His mentors are two prominent neuropsychologists and his professional career is rich with anecdotes. After a ‘sexual apprenticeship,’ he marries Raquel and has four children. The tragic deaths of Raquel, first and then of his eldest daughter shatter the family. Jacob divorces twice before finding happiness with his present wife.