A human being born into a cold, indifferent world will regard his situation as the only possible one.

— Alice Miller

All children are born to grow, to develop, to live, to love, and to articulate their needs and feelings for their self-protection.

— Alice Miller

Child abuse damages a person for life and that damage is in no way diminished by the ignorance of the perpetrator. It is only with the uncovering of the complete truth as it affects all those involved that a genuinely viable solution can be found to the dangers of child abuse.

— Alice Miller

Child abuse is still sanctioned — indeed, held in high regard — in our society as long as it is defined as child-rearing. It is a tragic fact that parents beat their children in order to escape the emotions from how they were treated by their own parents.

— Alice Miller

Cruelty is the opposite of love, and its traumatic effect, far from being reduced, is actually reinforced if it is presented as a sign of love.

— Alice Miller

Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weapon in our struggle against mental illness: the emotional discovery and emotional acceptance of the truth in the individual and unique history of our childhood.

— Alice Miller

Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weapon in our struggle against mental illness: the emotional discovery of our truth about the unique history of our childhood.

— Alice Miller

For the human soul is virtually indestructible, and its ability to rise from the ashes remains as long as the body draws breath.

— Alice Miller

Genuine feelings cannot be produced, nor can they be eradicated. We can only repress them, delude ourselves, and deceive our bodies. The body sticks to the facts.

— Alice Miller

Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on.

— Alice Miller