The Lie

This is an interesting article about a so-called ‘recovered’ memory. Meredith Maran decided that she had been molested by her father, but not until she was “30-something”. Although she did not press criminal charges, she did apparently abandon their relationship.

Until she decided that, what do you know, she made the whole thing up.

It’s an interesting look at an issue from an unusual perspective; we know that Jane Doe testified more than once that she wasn’t sure that the assault happened, only months after the initial ‘lost’ outcry interview. Although we don’t know how many times prosecutors met with the family, it’s likely that she was encouraged to repeat it in therapy, and as practice for the trial. Still, she wasn’t sure it happened.

The justice system acknowledges that false memories are easy to create in the minds of impressionable children. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn that Jane Doe still struggles with the question of whether or not she was ever assaulted.

http://www.salon.com/2010/09/20/meredith_maran_my_lie_interview/