The body will never understand

The body will never understand
Sunday May 14, 2006

Alice Miller,
I am a big fan of yours but have been wrestling with one issue. Both of my parents had unhappy childhoods, particularly my father. It seems given the abuse he suffered, the odds were heavily against him developing a healthy “self” to become a good father himself. He was a very poor father to me and I have some work to do in really exploring and accepting this, but it’s hard to become enraged as a 39 year old today when I know that my father’s poor parenting is a direct result of the abuse he suffered as a child. Any thoughts would be helpful and feel free to post. Thanks.
D

AM: You can NOW understand why your father treated you badly but this will not help you because your body (the child) will never, never understand that. It insists on being understood in the suffering of the little boy BY YOU.