''Spectral Evidence: The Ramona Case: Incest, Memory, and Truth on Trial in Napa Valley'' is a 1997 book written by Moira Johnston and published by
Houghton Mifflin Company
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Boston Financial District. It was formerly known as the Houghto ...
about the
Gary Ramona false memory
In psychology, a false memory is a phenomenon where someone recalls something that did not actually happen or recalls it differently from the way it actually happened. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporatio ...
case.
The author believed that Holly Ramona, who genuinely believed what she stated, was not experiencing genuine recovered memories.
According to
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
, the book portrays Gary Ramona "as not the best of fathers, but no rapist" and his ex-wife Stephanie Ramona "as a weak-willed
trophy wife
A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires subs ...
whose long-brewing anger at Gary found its expression" in her daughter's charges against her now ex-husband.
[ - Posted online on May 20, 2010.] Ann Rule of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' stated that the book "is packed with close-up views of both charlatans and true experts in the field of human memory".
The title is a reference to the
Salem witchcraft trials.
Reception
Vivian Dent, a
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
psychologist writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', stated that the book "stands as a reminder of how much in life resists understanding -- and as a caution against reaching too quickly for explanations that make only intuitive sense."
[ According to Dent, the author "avoids the virulent righteousness" in the false memory debate.][
Kirkus Reviews stated that it was "a frightening look into what happens when pop psychology is mistaken for therapy, and when the dubious fruits of that therapy are mistaken for truth."][ It added that the book "is a bit thin on some of the legal context for this case."][
Rule stated that "Spectral Evidence is an important work."][
]Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
stated that the book is "a gripping and well-researched account of a grim chapter in both scientific and family politics."
Jonathan Kirsch of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote that the book "tells the tale of a doomed family whose badges of success-- ..-concealed a cluster of profoundly dysfunctional relationships that collapsed under the weight of the secrets that they tried to keep from each other and the world around them."[ Kirsch argued that the "not entirely neutral" book, which does state that the truth will never be known with certainty, takes the point of view that the accusations were not true; Kirsch praised the book for using the points of view of Gary Ramona and of the people accusing him.][
Marya Grambs of the '']San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' wrote that the book is "a well-researched and dramatic account of a confusing subject and its intensely emotional contradictions" and "ably reveals the palpable anguish of the family and shows how intense feelings rippled outward" but that it had bias toward Gary Ramona.
See also
* Recovered-memory therapy
Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is a catch-all term for a controversial and scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that critics say utilizes one or more unproven therapeutic techniques (such as some forms of psychoanalysis, hypnosis, jour ...
* '' Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria''
* ''The Myth of Repressed Memory
''The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse'' is a 1994 book by Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham, published by St. Martin's Press.
They argued that the recovered memories movement, in which people stated ...
''
References
External links
* {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.napanet.net/~moiraj/, title=Spectral Evidence website
Book excerpt
1997 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Memory biases
Memory disorders