Dancing with Daddy: A Childhood Lost and a Life Regained

At age 45, Petersen, a journalist with a devoted husband and two young sons, underwent therapy to understand why she felt ``invaded'' by the little boys that she loved. Under the counselor's guidance, she recovered memories of her father's sexual abuse, finding in her eruptive rages and dreams recollections of the ugly secret--and its effects--long hidden behind her father's public reputation as a respected surgeon in San Francisco. Petersen describes the rapes to which she and, she later discovered, her older half sister were subjected. The book requires strong nerves to read, but this brave account is an important contribution to incest testimonies. Photos not seen by PW. (June)