SELF-HELP AUTHORS FREED FROM LIABILITY; SUIT INVOLVING INCEST CLAIMS CONTINUES San Francis

SELF-HELP  AUTHORS  FREED  FROM  LIABILITY;
SUIT  INVOLVING  INCEST CLAIMS CONTINUES

San Francisco Chronicle (SF) - TUESDAY, September 6, 1994
By: Katy Butler, Chronicle Staff Writer
Edition: FINAL  Section: News  Page: A16
Word Count: 417

TEXT:
    A  Sacramento  Superior  Court  judge  has dismissed a portion of a
lawsuit involving  the authors of ``The Courage to Heal,'' a popular self-help
text for incest survivors.

    The  suit, brought by Deborah David, her husband and her parents,
accused several  therapists  and  the  book  authors  with  creating
psychological problems  and leading David to confront her father and keep him
from seeing his grandchildren.

        The suit, which asks for more than $4 million in damages, will continue
against the therapists but not the authors.

        According to attorney Neil Shapiro, who represented authors Laura
Davis and Ellen  Bass of Santa Cruz, the portion of the suit against the
writers was dismissed Friday because of constitutional protections of free
speech.  Previous court  rulings  have  held that book authors cannot be
liable for damages caused by their ideas.

        According to David's suit, ``The Courage to Heal'' and ``The Courage to
Heal  Workbook''  were suggested to her by therapists who tried to convince her
 that  she  had  been  sexually  abused. David could not be reached for comment
yesterday.

        Shapiro  said  yesterday  that  statements  in the books ``are not like
chemical  equations that are right or wrong. These are ideas, and you can't
have a liability for ideas.''

         The  book  was  published  by  HarperCollins  in  1988  and  became an
underground  best-seller,  with  more  than  800,000  copies  sold. A thick
compendium   of   advice   about   therapy,   healing,   self-care,  family
confrontation,  sexuality and relationships, it incorporates the poetry and
stories  of more than 100 women who told the authors they had been sexually
abused as children.

        It has been criticized widely by parents who say they have been falsely
accused  by  their children and by some women who have since withdrawn such
accusations.  One  sentence in the book suggests that people who think they
were abused  probably  were,  even  if they have no specific memories, and other
portions suggest ways that women can help themselves remember more.

         A lawsuit similar to the one dismissed in Sacramento is pending in San
Luis Obispo County.

        Laura Davis, one of the authors, said yesterday that she felt ``great''
about the ruling.

        ``Our  book has had a big effect on incest survivors coming forward and
talking about  their  experiences,''  she  said.  ``That  has  been  very
threatening  to  people.  I  see the lawsuit as part of an ongoing backlash
against survivors of sexual abuse.

       ``I'm  glad  that it was squashed quickly. If it hadn't (been), it would
have been a nightmare for any author in a free society.''

                Copyright 1994 The San Francisco Chronicle


AUTHOR TARGET OF FALSE-MEMORIES LAWSUIT
Sacramento Bee (SB) - WEDNESDAY, May 4, 1994
By: Associated Press
Edition: STATE FINAL  Section: SUPCAL  Page: B3
Word Count: 299

TEXT:
SAN  LUIS  OBISPO  -  A woman has sued the author of a popular advice book,
claiming  it  was partly to blame for conjuring up false memories of sexual
abuse and satanic rituals.

       In  a  lawsuit  filed in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, Kimberly
Mark  accuses Laura Davis of negligence and misrepresentation for the views she
expressed in ''The Courage to Heal Workbook.''

       Mark  claimed  the book's advice was partly to blame for false childhood
memories  she  conjured  up  during  hypnotherapy  sessions.  The  memories
included  satanic rituals and sexual abuse by several people, including her
father.
       ''This  is  the  first  time that I know of that this kind of (suit) has
happened,''  said  Elizabeth  Loftus, a University of Washington psychology and
 law  professor  who  doubts  the  reality  of  memories that emerge in
adulthood after extensive therapy.

       The  lawsuit,  which  was  filed  last  week, could have trouble getting
around  First  Amendment  guarantees  of free published expression, said an
attorney who specializes in constitutional law.

       Courts must generally find a direct cause-and-effect relationship before
holding  someone  liable  for  damages,  said  Los Angeles attorney Stephen
Rohde.

   Neither Davis nor her agent immediately returned calls seeking comment.

       The workbook is a companion and sequel to the best-selling ''The
Courage to Heal,''  co-written with Ellen Bass. Both books have been
criticized by mental health  professionals  who say claims of repressed
childhood sexual abuse are often exaggerated.

       The first book has sold about 800,000 copies nationwide.  Patrick
Clancy, a Walnut Creek lawyer representing Kimberly and husband William  Mark,
said Davis  holds herself out as qualified to help readers heal
psychologically from the effects of childhood sexual abuse.

       Kimberly  Mark's  father  is dead, Clancy said. Her ''memories'' changed
after  she  read  a magazine article last year questioning hypnotherapists'
ability to bring back forgotten events, he said.