"Mike, you look so much better now. That morning you looked so sad."

"That's the morning you arrived?"

"Yes. "

"You had never been back before?"

"No, none of us had. But when the train pulled in, I was amazed by how much I could remember. The metal bridge, the wind blowing along the platform, the church spire across the rooftops. When I found the house, it felt... I don't know... spooky. I guess I was still scared, still afraid of him. I saw this store across the street. I looked in thbe window, waiting for... the courage to knock the door."

"I should have told you that there was nothing to be scared of. That he was a- But I didn't. Something happened when I saw you. It all came back... everything he did to us... It all swept over me... the wall was gone."

"It's a phenomenon known as repressed memory. Typically, a response to events which involve death, or physical or sexual abuse. Events which destroy an idealised image of some loved one. In simple terms, the mind refuses to accept that something terrible has happened."

"But why was it only Cathy who was... affected? We were always so close and we both... suffered the same."

"I honestly can't answer that. But it may be related to the fact that you... got away. In other words, you accepted what happened and dealt with it in your own way."

"And Cathy didn't?"

"Precisely. Your life in New York... your experiences with your father... her mind simply blocked them out."

"There was a wall, and when I opened the door, it was gone."

"A classic case of recall. Broadly speaking, three factors can trigger the recall of a repressed memory. Therapy. Anniversaries. Similar events, sights or experiences. When Cathy saw you, something, so to speak, clicked, and she remembered everything she had repressed for years."

"It seem so simple, so straightforward."

"Perhaps, but it's an area we're only beginning to have a fuller understanding of."

"What is there to understand? He destroyed our lives! And he destroyed Mom too. She couldn't take it anymore. She said nothing for years, but it all built up inside her.... She was cleaning the den and knocked over some of his papers. I saw her crawling around the floor, trying to pick them up. I saw him standing in the doorway, screaming: Why are you doing this to me! "

"Please, Cathy, don't upset yourself." continue