The mental prison camp Bessel identified was built and fenced in by the meaning my infant mind had forged from events that were painful and frightening and far beyond my control—not just by the events themselves. That meaning, the never-ending story whose moral is “I am a damaged being, beyond all hope of healing,” has frequently colored my subjective experience of life, regardless of external factors and regardless of all I’ve witnessed and learned to the contrary, even in defiance of my core values and convictions about humanity. I have always believed—and “believed” is not a strong enough
...more
