The first section of this book reads like a lively news account of a remarkably exciting event: the transactions of a spirited June 1994 conference on the validity of recovered memories of early sexual abuse which was jointly sponsored by the Psychoanalysis Unit of University College London and the Anna Freud Centre. Three formal papers were delivered, followed by a panel discussion, to an audience which was comprised of psychotherapists and psychoanalysts, patients who recovered memories of sexual abuse during psychotherapy, and some individuals who had been accused of sexual abuse by patients in treatment. This meeting was extraordinary because of the openness of all participants to listen to other points of view without rancor. I had the strong impression that there was a process of healing for many of the participants: the emotional pain of those who suffered alleged abuse was keenly felt, and