Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma:
How an American Practice Affects Infants and Ultimately Us All
by Ronald Goldman, Ph.D.
Boston: Vanguard, 1997
To order, toll-free: 1-888-445-5199

This fascinating book is profoundly disturbing. It is not for the weak or insecure because of the painful and complex social implications and the guilt.

As a physician who has performed circumcisions (and hated every second), and as a mother of three intact children (two boys and one girl), I found myself thankful I had the courage to stop performing circumcisions and left my boys intact. But I also became despondent reading Goldman's book: Suddenly I became aware of how our medical system and society has failed our children in so many ways. I realized I had fallen prey to many of our cultural and medical games/expectations and had not nurtured my children as I should have. Reading this book has permanently changed my perspectives on our society, and therefore, on my practice of medicine.

Ronald Goldman's book is extremely well-researched and well-written. I highly recommend it for medical and legal professionals, policy makers, and the public.

Rewiew by Michelle R. Storms, M.D.
Family Practice, Minocqua, Wisconsin
This review was first published in The Compleat Mother, Fall 1997