or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a £1.50 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card
The Primal Wound: Understanding the adopted child
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Primal Wound: Understanding the adopted child [Paperback]

Nancy Verrier
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
RRP: £11.95
Price: £8.36 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.59 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.
Only 9 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, June 2? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Paperback £8.36  
Trade In this Item for up to £1.50
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Primal Wound: Understanding the adopted child for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.50, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.

Frequently Bought Together

The Primal Wound: Understanding the adopted child + Coming Home to Self: Healing the Primal Wound + Journey of the Adopted Self: A Search for Wholeness
Price For All Three: £31.47

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: British Association for Adoption and Fostering (21 Sep 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1905664761
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905664764
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 17 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 9,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Product Description

Since its original publication in 1993, The Primal Wound has become a classic in adoption literature and is considered the adoptees bible . It is a must read for adopted people, adoptive families, birth parents and adoption professionals. BAAF has worked with the author to produce the first British edition of this classic title.

The Primal Wound has revolutionised how we think about adoption. Over the years, thousands have read this classic and found in it profound insights and revelations on what being adopted means to adopted people.In this book, Nancy Verrier, a psychotherapist and adoptive mother, elaborates on what she calls the primal wound the wound that results when a child is separated from his or her mother and the trauma that it causes. She examines the life-long consequences this can have for adopted people, as they are growing up and into adulthood, underpinning this with information about pre- and perinatal psychology, attachment, bonding, and the effects of loss.

This is a demanding book. It can be a difficult and painful read because of the emotions it evokes in all members of the adoption triad. But it can also bring relief as it can be a great help in acknowledging, understanding, and validating the wounds created by the trauma of separation between mother and child. This understanding can help adopted people, adoptive parents and birth parents. It can provide validation for the experiences and feelings of adoptees, who have often felt misunderstood; it can bring solace to birth mothers, who have long been denied the truth of their loss; and it can be a source of information for adoptive parents, so that they can better understand and respond to their children.

The Primal Wound offers adopted people validation for their feelings, explanations for their behaviour, and a context in which to situate and make sense of their experiences. It is a must for anyone struggling with unexplained feelings and insecurities caused by adoption, and has been described as life changing , a light bulb experience , a revelation and a journey of discovery .

The insights which it brings to the experiences of abandonment and loss will contribute not only to the healing of adoptees, adoptive families, and birth parents, but will bring understanding and encouragement to anyone who has ever felt abandoned. This is essential reading for anyone involved in adoption.

About the Author

Nancy Verrier, M.A., the mother of two daughters one who is adopted and one who is not is an advocate for children. She holds a master's degree in clinical psychology and is in private practice in Lafayette, California. In addition to her clinical and adoption work, Ms. Verrier writes and lectures about the effects of early childhood trauma and deprivation caused by premature separation from the mother under various circumstances.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 73 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I've just ordered this book cos I want my adoptive mother to read it, even though I'm half way through my own copy (bought elsewhere- sorry Amazon!). I think it'll stop her asking herself "where she went wrong"! Though I'm sure it could be difficult reading.

As a 25 year old adoptee, I figured I'd nobly managed to get to adulthood without having to go looking for my birthparents, or otherwise getting hung up on my adoption. This book has shown me that even though I don't wake up each morning cursing my natural parents for deserting me, the latent grief felt as a baby, when I couldn't put words to it, affects me and partly accounts for some of my traits.

I'd recommend this book to any adoptee, whether you think you really care about having been adopted or not. It's not about regaining the past, or falling back on a second set of parents. It's about jogging your memory and trying to remember the person you started out life as, so that hopefully you can put a more tangible mental link between your birth and childhood.

Was this review helpful to you?
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I discovered this book at the end of '98, and, as emotional as it is, I could not believe that everything I had ever felt during my life - and unable, or not allowed, to express - was written in black and white. Nobody had ever addressed adoption with me (even a counsellor about eight years ago totally ignored the issue!) so this book felt like a revelation to me. Although I am still the same person, I at least understand what I am about. I too have bought many copies to give to close family and friends and would recommend anyone close to adoption to read it. I only wish I had had this insight as I was growing up - I could not work out what was wrong with me and this could have saved a lot of pain. I sat through a seminar held by Nancy, who spoke brilliantly - She was truly enlightening as is The Primal Wound.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read this book with some trepidation, I was a bit scared I would find out things I didn't want to know, but discovered that the way I am isn't all my fault. At times I felt I could have written parts of the book, other bits were not so relevant to me. It helped my husband understand me a little better. I would recommend this to anyone wishing to know a bit more about the parts of themselves they or others don't understand.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
At last some sense
For 11 years I've nurtured my adopted daughter with a heart full of love yet too often I seemed to get it wrong. Read more
Published 2 months ago by carolyn
who am I?
I am a adopted "child" at the other side of thirty. I read this book and I identified with it. I am now starting to understand me and realise I am not mad and also understand to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by sarah
The primal wound
As an adoptee now 50yrs old and having had contact in my 20s with my birth mother, I thought I'd identified and dealt with all my feelings. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ira Hayes Jr
What an enlightening book
This book gives an amazing insight into reasons why I feel the way I do, why I've always been terrified that someone will leave me, why I never got along with my mother, why I had... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. R. Figuiere
Essential reading for the adoption triad
I give this book five stars. I recognise myself over and over again in this book. The need to please, the sense of a loss of identity during my early years which later developed... Read more
Published 7 months ago by marc
The Primal Wound
I read this book cover to cover and I found it hard going.It makes a lot of sense but it is a struggle to get through. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. Wj Brown
Poignant & Enlightening
I am an adult who was abandoned by my mother as an infant and i was then brought up within a family environment, although not legally adopted. Read more
Published 7 months ago by puppylove
the truth hurts but thanks for writing it
Hi I am a adopted "child" or should I say adult. I read this book and to be very frank I identified with aprox 95%. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sarah Louise Young
The primal wound
This is a very moving and informative book and helped immensely with my clients.
Beautifully put together and very accessible. Thank you.
Published 9 months ago by therapist
Utter rubbish
If you wish to read about some etherial link between a mother and child then this is the book.

It doesn't deal with the presumably missing link between the father and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Toxdom
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges