Miller shares an intensely personal tone and themes of her best-loved work, arguing that only by embracing the truth of our past histories can any of us hope to be free of pain in the present. Miller's vivid true stories reveal the perils of early-childhood mistreatment and the dangers of mindless obedience to parental will. [...]

The “drama” of the gifted—i.e., sensitive, alert—child consists of his recognition at a very early age of his parents’ needs and of his adaptation to those needs. In the process, he learns to repress rather than to acknowledge his own intense feelings because they are unacceptable to his parents. This leads to emotional insecurity and [...]