Annie G. RogersA Shining Affliction: A Story of Harm and Healing in Psychotherapy

I think Rogers is a great intellect. I was so impressed by The Unsayable, and this memoir, though not as brilliant as the later, is also full of insight. But both books worried me greatly. I'm afraid that some people might construe A Shining Affliction as being a book about a woman who, through therapy, encounters recovered memories of sexual abuse at the hands of her parents--instances of abuse that were unknown to her until the therapy sessions she describes. Rogers doesn't say that in this book, flat out: she leaves it ambiguous. But she comes close to saying it.I understand that in 1996, when this book was published, such ideas were floating around in the culture, and that everybody's inner life, conscious or not, is bound to be influenced by the society in which one lives. But I think that Rogers, as a psychologist who writes about childhood trauma and the "unsayable," has a responsibility to address the facts surrounding trauma and memory. Many instances of "recovered memories" (particularly memories recovered in therapy) from the nineties are now considered to be part of a mass hysteria made famous in the 1980's with the McMartin preschool case. In both categories (preschool abuse, recovered memory cases--sometimes with Satanic aspects), "abusers" were tried and sent to prison. But these were, in effect, witch trials. The evidence was non-existent, and it is now accepted that no crimes were committed.In A Shining Affliction, Rogers makes an effort to document the abuse of her young patient, but she doesn't include any documentation of her own abuse. I wish she had, but it's not really that that's bothering me--A Shining Affliction was written in a different time, a different climate. No one expected her to document her abuse then. But I do expect her to do it now. What's real and what's not real is a crucial part of understanding trauma, in my opinion; the fact that we just passed through an era when "unreal" trauma was created by clinicians and prosecuted as actual crimes is extremely disturbing. (And I'm not saying Rogers wasn't abused--she certainly seems to be suffering, and this information may be known to her--yet she leaves out so much of her own history. Why was she taken from her mother and put into foster care, for example? And her sister--what happened to her?)This is why I kept waiting, in the Unsayable (a much more recent book) for Rogers to address the sexual abuse hysteria of the eighties and nineties. She didn't. But someone in her field has to, and I wish it would be her. She's so damn smart for one, plus it really is her responsibility. How can she not say? That's what her work is about. In a sense, the sexual abuse hysteria of the eighties and nineties has become an unsayable part of the recent history of psychoanalysis, an unspoken trauma in the field; Rogers has contributed to this trauma by implying, in A Shining Affliction, that she was utterly blindsided to learn, as a twenty-seven year old, that her mother and father had each molested her when she was very young. (Though she does indicate that she had some prior knowledge as well--it's quite unclear what she's saying.) And she continues to contribute to this trauma by remaining silent on the subject.

Beautiful writing for a painful subject, this autobiographical book is intense and absorbing throughout. As an intern in clinical psychology, Annie Rogers is assigned 5-year-old Ben, whose life has been filled with trauma. He is the first child she treats, but she shows herself to be an intuitive and insightful healer. Her brilliant work stands in contrast to what she has suffered in her own life, and continues to suffer. Her psychotherapist is not just unhelpful but brutally insensitive, and only later, after a devastating experience, is Rogers able to find a path to wholeness for herself, in the warm, accepting presence of the analyst Dr. Sam Blumenfeld. The two journeys, Annie's and Ben's, intertwine throughout the book, each a mirror for the other. Rogers weaves a narrative of child abuse, adult trauma, and surprising, incandescent hope. There will be more healing to come. This book is a must read for anyone who is in the field of psychotherapy, or interested in it, or who has suffered trauma and its aftereffects, including inaccurate, sometimes destructive diagnoses - or for anyone who is engaged by the different ways of being human.

I really enjoyed this book. It clarified and solidified a lot for me. Really listening to someone deeply can be difficult, it's a lot easier to shut yourself off. It's interesting how we hide behind so much to keep ourselves safe. Why do we find comfort in having someone to assign fault to? What purpose does this really serve? Does it just make the painful aspects of our reality easier to handle? Or does it simply allow us to shirk our own responsibility? Probably both. Life, people, and relationships would be really easy to navigate where everything to be black and white. What a manageable, simplified reality to exist in. Sounds super boring to me! Bless this woman for her courage to share her story! I, for one, am grateful.

Outstanding picture of the two-way work of healing in psychotherapy. Annie Rogers is a master of language, picture, and story - and her attention to and willingness to share the details of her story and her work.

Annie Rogers demonstrates incredible courage and vulnerability in sharing her experience as both child therapist intern and patient. I had a hard time putting the book down as I felt I was fully taken along on her emotional journey of heartbreak and healing. Annie Rogers is the epitome of resilience.

This was a touching, engaging case study by a brilliant therapist whose own early trauma made her uniquely able to understanding and heal. Highly recommended for anyone, especially therapists.

Really moving. Made me cry several times for the author, and for little Ben. As a health care provider, there were times I questioned her decision on her field of practice before she was necessarily ready, and worried for her patients, but also found the process quite profound. She has amazing insight. Could not stop reading.

I loved everything about this book! Annie Rogers courageous story is a must read for all persons in the helping professions.

There is such little literature on the vulnerability and the benefits of this personal vulnerability for therapy. We are taught to keep our own pain distant from our profession. This book contributed to me feeling more free to use my life experience more openly in how I understand others and their challenges. So thank you for that Annie.

This book is so patronising. Each clinical Interaction is described and then supposedly 'analysed' ( repeated ) But there are no major insights. Nothing that the reader would not have already picked up from the interaction themselves. This writer clearly assumes the reader is a total idiot. And that she is some sort of psychoanalytic genius amd we never could have worked out her brilliant and cunning methods. And as for her breakdown... this writer thinks she is being experimental and so very very innovative with her fragmented and chaotic narrative but this has been done by so many writers - and so much better - before. I paid 9.99 for this 'gem of a book' what a total waste of time and money.

This is a moving account of a young therapist experiencing a difficult transformation in the process of therapy with a child. It touches on many of the challenges faced by therapists in a way that engaged my deepest feelings and fears about therapy and left me very glad for having read it. The need to support therapists and those they care for couldn't be clearer. Thank you Annie for writing this. Long life and happiness to you for bringing such a powerful and hopeful message into my life as well as a serious contribution to the practice of psychotherapy. Grá mór.Peadar

I don’t know what to say. Absolutely magnificent book, I feel inspired

I bought this book following recommendation from Eleanor Payson who wrote,a wonderful book,called "The Wizard of Oz and other Narcissists",and was not disappointed at all. I thoroughly recommendthis book!