ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the many people who offered their help and support during the three years we worked on this book. We are especially grateful to:

—the families and individuals who told us their stories. Many of the people we interviewed asked to remain anonymous in order to spare their families further pain; thus, while we cannot mention them by name, we honor their contribution;

—Raymond and Shirley Souza, Lynn Price Gondolf, Laura Pasley, Melody Gavigan, Phil and Susan Hoxter, Chuck and June Noah, Jennifer and Pamela Freyd, and Paul Ingram who taught us so much about the anguish of both accuser and accused;

—Steve Moen for legal insights and advice;

—Richard Ofshe, whose wit, wisdom, and plain speaking frequently lifted our sagging spirits;

—Lawrence Wright, author of Remembering Satan (Knopf, 1994); Harry N. MacLean, author of Once Upon a Time (HarperCollins, 1993); and Stephanie Salter (San Francisco Examiner columnist and co-author of the Examiner’s April 4–9, 1993 series “Buried Memories/Broken Families”), for generously sharing their ideas and research;

—Ellen Bass, Lucy Berliner, Karen Olio, Gerald Bausek, David Spiegel, George Ganaway, Paul McHugh, Joseph Barber, Gayle Gulick, Nelson Cardwell, Ricardo Weinstein, Marsha Linehan, and Margaret Hagen for illuminating discussions about psychotherapy;

—William Calvin, who reviewed various sections dealing with the physiological mechanisms of memory;

—the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health, for supporting Elizabeth Loftus’s research efforts in the area of the malleability of memory;

—the student members of the Repressed Memory Research Group at the University of Washington;

—Jane Dystel, our indefatigable and delightful literary agent;

—Charles Spicer, our editor at St. Martin’s Press, who proves that the substantive editor is alive, well, and energetically active in New York. We are grateful for that, and for him;

—Ilene Bernstein, Lonnie Rosenwald, and Diana Arnold, for their friendship and support;

—Melinda Burgess, who helped frame the direction of this book and constantly affirmed its central purpose;

—Tracee Simon, for careful readings of the manuscript and suggestions for improvement;

—Sharon Kaufman-Osborn, Chris Anderson, and Delores Humphreys, for their insights into the therapeutic process;

—Callie Walling, Jacquie Pickrell, and Michelle Nucci, for valuable research assistance;

—Geoffrey Loftus, Maryanne Garry, and Steve Ceci, who were unfailingly generous with their time and compassion whenever the letters, calls, or e-mail took a hostile turn;

—Robyn, Alison, and Benjamin Spencer, who continually bring home to their mother, Kathy Ketcham, the knowledge that family matters more than anything;

—Patrick Spencer, who proves through his patience, sense of humor, and loving attentiveness that the near-perfect husband and father does indeed exist;

—the family of Elizabeth Loftus (the Fishman, Breskin, and Loftus family members), who deserve enduring gratitude and affection for all they have taught her about the importance of protesting injustice. It was her family who first introduced her to the writings of Elie Wiesel. “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice,” Wiesel wrote, “but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”