SEATTLE, Washington – In 1991, Lynn Crook successfully sued her parents for sexually abusing her as a child. Yet by 1994, a sinister concept had seized headlines and the public imagination: the idea that therapists could implant “false memories” in their patients, particularly in survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Despite having won her case in court, Lynn suddenly found herself confronted with suspicion and mistrust from the outside, and a new level of psychological turmoil from within.
Determined to investigate the “false memories” story and its grip on the news cycle, Crook uncovered a shocking deception: a well-planned, highly successful, $7.75 million media campaign by accused parents to silence adults who were molested as children.
“False Memories: The Deception That Silenced Millions” is the story of Crook’s case against her parents, her investigation into the “false memories” narrative, and her exposure of the publicity campaign that upended countless lives through gaslighting and manipulation. This harrowing, meticulously-researched account is also a story of hope: a testament to the enduring strength of abuse survivors, and a revelatory exposé of the tactics used to question and undermine survivors to this day.
“False Memories: The Deception That Silenced Millions”
Lynn Crook | Aug. 25, 2022 | Memoir/True Crime
Paperback | 979-8-8422-1377-1 | $17.99
Ebook | $8.99
About The Author
Lynn Crook is the author of “False Memories: The Deception That Silenced Millions.” She earned a BA in French, and an MEd in educational psychology at the University of Washington. She served as community educator and director for a sexual assault agency in southeastern Washington. In 1991, she sued her parents for damages after recovering memories of childhood sexual abuse by her father. Following a month-long trial in 1994, the judge ruled in her favor at a time when 85% of the popular press was telling us that adults’ accusations of childhood sexual abuse are false memories. She has presented at professional conferences in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and at the United Nations. She hopes that her book will encourage the public to respond with compassion to adults who find the courage to disclose childhood trauma. Learn more at www.lynncrook.com.
Topics that Lynn Crook can discuss in an interview:
- Her personal experience with childhood sexual abuse, successfully suing her parents and how this led to discovering widespread false memory gaslighting of survivors all over the United States and Europe.
- The media accurately reported accounts of sexual abuse in the 1980s. Once legislators allowed survivors to sue for damages, accused parents established a foundation and responded with a massive PR campaign claiming the accusations were false memories.
- How a flawed study spread like wildfire, unchallenged, after it suggested accusations of rape and abuse could be implanted as false memories.
- The experiences of therapists and survivors who were harassed by false memory advocates, and how she deals with gaslighting.
- How psychology textbooks inform students that memories are unreliable, and how accused celebrities rely on the false memory defense.
- April marks National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
- Resources for survivors of sexual abuse, including Mary Knight’s documentary, “Am I Crazy? My Journey to Determine if My Memories Are True;” “Trauma and Memory,” a new book by several experts in the field; fiction and nonfiction by Anna Salter, PhD; and nonfiction by Judith Herman, PhD.
A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
