ABSTRACT
The author presents recollections of his father's professional struggle to develop Attachment Theory, and some of the public's misunderstandings of what he wrote. Sometimes this has been because of the emotional difficulties that they have with his work, and there are also wider social issues which still prevent many people from accepting Attachment Theory. However, the phrase "prolonged separation" has been misrepresented and frequently used to suggest that Attachment Theory warns of grave consequences for the young child whose mother works outside the home. The author describes some of the financial and emotional obstacles that have made Attachment Theory so unpalatable to the public. The origin of his father's motivation for working on the conundrum of the parent-child attachment relationship probably stems from a traumatic event when he was about four years old. Most informal discussions with parents about attachment-related issues rapidly become focused on their own personal experiences.
