Eleanor Goldstein
Role:
Friend of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, SIRS Founder.
Impact:
Close friend of Pamela Freyd who monetarily backed, co-authored, published and distributed Pamela Freyd’s first book.
Bio:
Eleanor Goldstein was a close friend of Pamela Freyd and deeply connected with the FMSF. She co-authored and published Pamela Freyd's first book through her company SIRS, Inc. (Social Issues Resources Series), monetarily backing the project, distributing it to readers and giving it a higher sense of credibility than if Pamela Freyd had self published it. Eleanor used SIRS to promote and distribute materials that were sympathetic to the FMSF and critical of recovered memories, as well as dedicated a large portion of the SIRS database to documents supporting the FMSF.
Views on Incest:
In an interview with Mary Knight, Eleanor Goldstein described a father sexually fondling his child as a “mistake” and stated that in situations of sexual abuse, children should be “responsible for themselves and not carry a grudge from century to century.” The interview goes on to discuss this incident:
Knight: “But if there was sexual touch, do you think the family should still stay together?”
Goldstein: “Of course”
Knight: “Even after there was-”
Goldstein: “Absolutely.”
Goldstein: “I don’t think sexual touch is the horrible horrors. I don’t think so. I think we make a big to-do about nothing.” [1]
Stacy’s Letter:
When Eleanor Goldstein passed, her daughter Stacey Sharlet posted an open letter to a well-known email listserv on dissociation detailing the negative emotional, financial, and interpersonal effects Eleanor and the False Memory Syndrome Foundation had on her life. She wrote about the harm brought to her, bullying, intimidation, and fear experienced at the hands of the foundation. [2]
What follows are three excepts from the letter:
“Eleanor's implied threats were real. Some of them she carried out with great gusto with your support and knowledge. She destroyed my family income. My husband, children and I were nearly homeless as we lost our house to bankruptcy when my husband lost his job.” [2]
“Eleanor made it clear how she could hurt me, and even more importantly, my children. Her favorite story was Medea, the story of a woman who kills her children to avenge her husband; she repeatedly commented on how she could hire a hit man in Delray Beach.” [2]
“Without trust in perception and memory, we cannot grow, mature and learn, and you, the FMSF and Eleanor engaged tenaciously in doing just that. You undermined my health as well as that of other survivors in the most profound ways, reaching into the core of who we are. You undermined our humanity, sense of self and some might say our soul. You tried to rob us of our dignity.” [2]