Have you ever heard of your inner child? Well, this is the classic book that started it all. In 1987, Charlie Whitfield's breakthrough concept of the child withinthat part of us which is truly alive, energetic, creative and fulfilledlaunched the inner child movement. Healing the Child Within describes how the inner child is lost to trauma and loss, and how by recovering it, we can heal the fear, confusion and unhappiness of adult life. Eighteen years and more than a million copies sold later, Healing the Child Within is a perennial selling classic in the field of psychology. And it is even more timely today than it was in 1987. Recent brain research, particularly on the effects of trauma on the brain of developing children, has supported Whitfield's intuitive understanding as a psychiatrist. About HCI Recovery Classics HCI's recovery backlist contains some of the most important and best-selling works in the recovery field. These books are still sought after today, selling more than 100,000 copies per year. Our new line of branded books features expanded editions of our top recovery titles, new introductions, updates on pertinent recent developments in the field, and contemporary new covers and packaging.

Charles L. Whitfield, M.D., has 18 years of experience treating people with alcohol, drug and family problems. He is in private practice with Whitfield Associates in Baltimore, specializing in working with adult children and co-dependents and is on the faculty of Rutgers Summer School on Alcohol Studies. He is the author of A Gift To Myself, Spirituality In Recovery and a new book, Co-dependence: Healing The Human Condition, the most comprehensive and ground-breaking book on co-dependence available today. He lectures and does workshops nationally.

Chapter 1 Discovering Our Child Within The concept of the Child Within has been a part of our world culture for at least two thousand years. Carl Jung called it the 'Divine Child' and Emmet Fox called it the 'Wonder Child.' Psychotherapists Alice Miller and Donald Winnicott refer to it as the 'true self.' Many in the field of alcoholism and other chemical dependence call it the 'inner child.' The Child Within refers to that part of each of us which is ultimately alive, energetic, creative and fulfilled; it is our Real Self who we truly are. With our parents' unknowing help and society's assistance, most of us deny our Inner Child. When this Child Within is not nurtured or allowed freedom of expression, a false or co-dependent self emerges. We begin to live our lives from a victim stance, and experience difficulties in resolving emotional traumas. The gradual accumulation of unfinished mental and emotional business can lead to chronic anxiety, fear, confusion, emptiness and unhappiness. Denial of the Child Within and the subsequent emergence of a false self or negative ego are particularly common among children and adults who grew up in troubled families, such as those where chronic physical or mental illness, rigidity, coldness or lack of nurturing were common. Yet, there is a way out. There is a way to discover and to heal our Child Within and to break free of the bondage and suffering from relying on our false self. That is what this book is about. ©2008. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Healing the Child Within by Charles L. Whitfield. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street , Deerfield Beach , FL 33442.

---

Excerpted from Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Charles L. Whitfield
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.