Rating: 
Summary: An important book
Review: Michelle Remembers is almost a classic. It was the first book that described memories of ritual abuse that has been recovered in therapy. As such it has been harshly attacked by a host of backlash authors, who claim that it is "a fraud" or "a hoax". But Michelle Remembers is an important book and it is worth reading. First, because it was the first book that in detail described RA memories, second, because it is a very moving and at the same time, of course,very sad book. Most of it is convincing, at least for RA survivors or people who already knows about the subject. More problematic, of course, is the end of the book. The vision of virgin Mary is certainly not a memory in the the usual sense of the word but rather a religous experience. But it is not hard to understand why a tortured child could find comfort in the image of the Virgin! Some backlash authors has tried to "prove" that the book is a hoax. Some journalists even went to Michelles home town and interviewed the father, who, predictably enough, said that Michelle lied. Some neighbours even said that "oh, no, this could not be true". Case closed...or is it? To interview family memebrs of RA victims and ask if the story is true is certainly not the best way of checking the story... And what did they think the neighbors should say: "Yes we always thought that Michelles mother was a secret satanist"! Michelle Remembers is not debunked, and there is no evidence that it is a fake. It is, by the way, not even the first description of ritual abuse from the 20th century. As ethnologist Bill Ellis, himself an RA sceptic, has showed in an article in the journal Folklore n:o 1, 1993, there were cases in England already in the fifties. This is not a book of fiction. Unfortunately, the basic story in the book is, in all probability, true.
Rating: 
Summary: Dangerous
Review: Michelle Smith & Dr. Lawrence Pazder Michelle Remembers (1980). This is the first and probably the most important of the Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) books. It allegedly documents horrendous abuse suffered by Michelle at the hands of a Satanic cult. This single book gave a kick start to the entire SRA movement in the early 1980's. The Wiccan Information Network and other groups have found that much of the book content was derived from Dr. Pazder's personal studies of African native rituals, rather than from Michelle's memories. When the accuracy of his book was questioned during a seminar, Dr. Pazder stated that he and Michelle had never claimed that the events in the book actually happened! He is now promoting "Sadistic Ritual Abuse" as the new definition of SRA. He believes that the Satanic conspiracy does not exist. He believes that recovered memories of SRA during childhood are often based on real memories of incest to which a false overlay of Satanic ri! tual has been added.
Rating: 
Summary: HAIL SATAN
Review: Satanism will reign one day and christianity will be driven back to where it came from. it plagues this world like a parasite. we are forced to believe what a piece of literature wants us to believe. if there is a god? where is your proof?
Rating:
Summary: A dangerous propaganda work
Review: The author himself has denounced the work as untrue. It was this book which started the SRA panic of the eighties which destroyed the lives many innocent people. SRA is an urban legend now attributed to false memory syndrome, and to continue its propagation is folly. If as many people as these myths state have been victims of SRA were in existence, half of the US would have MPD. As it stands now, the psychiatric field is questioning the existence of MPD at all! Only the staunchest Fundamentalists still believe in it. How many more people must be persecuted because of ignorance and lies?
Rating:
Summary: Who is fooling who?
Review: The book itself is somewhat disturbing but i am more reviewing the truth behind it's origins... I was born and raised in Victoria, BC and have lived here for all of my 23 years. This book and the story behind it are legend to the many high school students of the city. Growing up you could hear rumors of this story. "The driveway to the house curls around to a BIG 6 with the house at the center."
"No, I'm serious...it really did happen. There's this book, Michelle Remembers, haven't you heard of it?" Like usual teenagers we would go thrill seeking and many a boring weekend night we would visit the place where the house used to stand. That's right, there was no house at all, only the remnants of a foundation. The property stood vacant for a looong time, adding to the mystery i suppose. Rumors swirled that no one would purchase the waterfront property in the desirable Mount Doug neighbourhood Not even the most successful realtors in the city could sell it, infact most refused to even try. The girls that would come with us seemed to make the trip a little more frightening, and we would always decide to go looking...oh, say sometime after midnight. The sad reality of it all is...
The house doesn't even exist anymore. The driveway was straight. The property has since been developed and many families reside there in peace. There is no hauntings or strange occurences reported. And the scariest thing the people who live around that area have probably ever heard were the blood-curdling screams of the girls we took there one night after we called some buddies ahead of time and told them to hide in the bushes.
Rating: 
Summary: I live in Victoria BC...
Review: The book itself is somewhat disturbing but i am more reviewing the truth behind it's origins... I was born and raised in Victoria, BC and have lived here for all of my 23 years. This book and the story behind it are legend to the many high school students of the city. Growing up you could hear rumors of this story. "The driveway to the house curls around to a BIG 6 with the house at the center."
"No, I'm serious...it really did happen. There's this book, Michelle Remembers, haven't you heard of it?" Like usual teenagers we would go thrill seeking and many a boring weekend night we would visit the place where the house used to stand. That's right, there was no house at all, only the remnants of a foundation. The property stood vacant for a looong time, adding to the mystery i suppose. Rumors swirled that no one would purchase the waterfront property in the desirable Mount Doug neighbourhood Not even the most successful realtors in the city could sell it, infact most refused to even try. The girls that would come with us seemed to make the trip a little more frightening, and we would always decide to go looking...oh, say sometime after midnight. The sad reality of it all is...
The house doesn't even exist anymore. The driveway was straight. The property has since been developed and many families reside there in peace. There is no hauntings or strange occurences reported. And the scariest thing the people who live around that area have probably ever heard were the blood-curdling screams of the girls we took there one night after we called some buddies ahead of time and told them to hide in the bushes.
Rating:
Summary: satanic abuse: the thing that is not
Review: The FBI has acknowledged that satanic cults and ritual abuse are fantasies concocted by evangelicals and fundamentalists. The author of this book informed journalist Bruce Grearson that he considers the question of whether Michelle's claims are "technically true" immaterial nit-picking. (Manufacturing Victims, 2001, page 196) "Michelle Remembers" is a close clone of Little Red Riding Hood, but less entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Truth or Fiction? Don't miss the underlying message
Review: The majority of readers seem to stumble and clash on the fiction/non-fiction issue regarding this book. As an experienced research investigator, often consulted by law enforcement on issues regarding satanism and the like , I can attest to possessing several case files bearing strong resemblance to the activities and occurrences described in the book. In fact, the abuse as described in the book is rather mild to many accounts I could expound upon if given the opportunity to do so. Make no mistake; satanism (and I am not referring to self-styled amateurs that worship the ground Anton Levay walked upon)is alive and well throughout the world. Ritual, abuse, torture and heavy drug abuse are all key elements in its practice, granted, in varying degrees. Wether the book is based on an actual account or not is unimportant. The fact that many readers have had the opportunity to be exposed to subject matter, which can directly or directly affect themselves and their children, that they may have never have given a second thought to makes the book worthwhile. A final comment. There is a very old saying: "The greatest while (strategy) of the devil is that he has convinced mankind that he does not exist". The rational, open-minded person reading this would do well to ponder and consider this statement.
Rating:
Summary: A profoundly dangerous book
Review: This book almost single-handidly triggered the Satanic Panic when it was published in 1980. Although there never were any court cases involving Satanic Ritual Abuse before this book was published, many individuals came forward in the early 1980s claiming to have been abused in just the same way as Michelle. This book has been investigated by three independent groups. They all agree that it is a hoax, based on Dr. Pazder's studies of African native rituals. It is a fascinating book if read as a work of horror fiction. Just don't believe that any of it actually happened. Thousands of children (now young adults) and hundreds of adults have had their lives destroyed by the panic that was triggered by this book -- a panic which is only now subsiding. Smith and Pazder have a lot to account for.
Rating:
Summary: Scary! Really makes you appreciate a normal life!
Review: This book is very good but very scary at the same time. Because it is based on a true story it makes it even scarier. Do not read this book at night. I did and started to imagine things. Read this book in natural daylight, it helps! I'm really glad I read this book and would definitely recommend it.
If you liked the exorcist, this book is better!
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