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Overview
Spectral Evidence is a masterful account of the Ramona family of Napa Valley, CA, whose outward appearance of success was destroyed by allegations of child sexual abuse brought by Holly, the eldest of the Ramonas three daughters, by her mother, Stephanie, and by Holly’s therapists against her father, Gary.These allegations were based on memories recovered through the efforts of the therapists, who were later successfully sued by Gary for malpractice. From the powerfully rendered confrontation between Gary and his wife and daughter, to the dramatic conclusion of the first trial, at which the entire concept of recovered memory was furiously debated, readers witness a dynamic and emotional family drama.Johnston, a veteran investigative journalist, objectively explores the nature of recovered memory, its validity, and its quick acceptance within the professional psychological community. The book provides an even-handed and fair survey of the research and opinions brought to bear by feminists, psychologists, memory scientists, and legal experts.
Synopsis
"Spectral Evidence is a masterful account of the Ramona family of Napa Valley, CA, whose outward appearance of success was destroyed by allegations of child sexual abuse brought by Holly, the eldest o"
Publishers Weekly
Gary Ramona's 1994 lawsuit against therapists Marche Isabella and Richard Rose was a landmark in the intense debate over recovered memory, and "a chilling warning to the entire profession of psychotherapy," argues Johnson in this hard-driving report. At stake was the claim that deeply repressed memories of childhood trauma can be accurately recalled in the course of therapy. During treatment for bulimia in 1989, Holly Ramona, then 19, began to experience "flashbacks" that led her, through the encouragement of therapist Isabella and the administration of sodium amytal, to "recall" that she had been raped many times by her father, Gary, as a young child. Gary was confronted with these charges by his wife and Isabella in a 1990 meeting staged by Isabella and Rose. By Christmas, Gary, who had been the top salesman at the Mondavi family winery in Napa Valley, earning a six-figure salary, was unemployed, facing an expensive divorce and living with his mother. Johnston's account never loses sight of the destroyed family amid the legal and psychological controversy at the heart of the case, and her chapter on memory science provides a much needed framework for the debate. Johnston (Rollercoaster) has produced a gripping and well-researched account of a grim chapter in both scientific and family politics. Author tour. (June)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Gary Ramona's 1994 lawsuit against therapists Marche Isabella and Richard Rose was a landmark in the intense debate over recovered memory, and "a chilling warning to the entire profession of psychotherapy," argues Johnson in this hard-driving report. At stake was the claim that deeply repressed memories of childhood trauma can be accurately recalled in the course of therapy. During treatment for bulimia in 1989, Holly Ramona, then 19, began to experience "flashbacks" that led her, through the encouragement of therapist Isabella and the administration of sodium amytal, to "recall" that she had been raped many times by her father, Gary, as a young child. Gary was confronted with these charges by his wife and Isabella in a 1990 meeting staged by Isabella and Rose. By Christmas, Gary, who had been the top salesman at the Mondavi family winery in Napa Valley, earning a six-figure salary, was unemployed, facing an expensive divorce and living with his mother. Johnston's account never loses sight of the destroyed family amid the legal and psychological controversy at the heart of the case, and her chapter on memory science provides a much needed framework for the debate. Johnston (Rollercoaster) has produced a gripping and well-researched account of a grim chapter in both scientific and family politics. Author tour. (June)Booknews
An investigative journalist's account of the explosive Napa Valley trial in which the daughter of a prominent winemaker accused her father of incest, raising still-unanswered questions about childhood experience, flashbacks, and the recovered memory debate. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.Kirkus Reviews
An utterly captivating story of wine, wealth, and a family destroyed by accusations of incest.Johnston (Roller Coasters, 1990, etc.) cuts through an amazingly tangled web of recovered memories and warring therapists to bring to life the story of the Ramona family. Gary and Stephanie Ramona were enjoying the American Dream in Napa Valley, where Gary had a top sales job at Mondavi. But their daughter Holly developed bulimia in high school. A random choice led her to Marche Isabella, a newly minted therapist with no training in eating disorders or depression. She first met Holly in 1989, just as a tidal wave of recovered memories—visual images purported by some therapists to be repressed memories of childhood abuse—began. Soon Holly was taking sodium amytal, a questionable form of therapy, and declared she had been raped repeatedly by Gary. The stunning lack of proof (including the fact that Hollys hymen was practically intact) was no obstacle to what became a Job-like turn of events for Gary: His wife and three daughters left him, his newly constructed dream house was sold for legal fees, and he was fired from Mondavi. Holly filed suit against her father, and he, devastated, filed a malpractice lawsuit agains her therapists. His suit was ultimately successful, and Johnston offers high drama in her account of jury selection, competing expert witnesses, and courtroom testimony. Her research into memory science is meticulous, and she does a brilliant job of presenting both sides to this story, presenting Gary as not the best of fathers, but no rapist, and Stephanie as a weak-willed trophy wife whose long-brewing anger at Gary found its expression in incest accusations.
Johnston is a bit thin on some of the legal context for this case. Still, a frightening look into what happens when pop psychology is mistaken for therapy, and when the dubious fruits of that therapy are mistaken for truth.