Basing his view on the object relations theories of the "British School" of psychoanalysis, Christopher Bollas examines the human subject"s memories of its earliest experiences (during infancy and childhood) of the object, whether it be mother, father, or self. He explains in well-written and non-technical language how the object can affect the child, or "cast in shadow," without the child being able to process this relation through mental representations of language. (Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists)