They deserve to be punished?

They deserve to be punished?
Friday April 21, 2006

Dear Alice

I am writing to you because I want to thank you for your books. I admire you for your knowledge. I am an adult children of alkoholic and I have a lot of problems. I am trying to solve them on the theraphy. Your books give me the knowledge of myself and help me understand myself. I have always felt worse than other people and I was suffering because of lonelyness but I didn’t know why. I knew that my father have been drinking but I didn’t realise that it has influenced on me. I thought that something was wrong with me and I didn’t suppose that it was because of my parent’s behaviour. Now I discover the truth about myself and you help me with that.
Thank you again.

Your faithfully, K. G.

AM: You describe in few words the crucial confusion ALL mistreated children have to suffer: they are not allowed to see how cruelly they were treated and had to believe that all the cruelty they endured was because they were bad, because they deserved to be punished. So they feel guillty their whole adult lives. You may be interested in reading my article about feelings of guilt and my last book that appeared now in Polish under the title: bunt ciala. Also the book Breaking Down the Wall of Silence recently appeared in Polish. I wish you much understanding from your therapist.