Description

The Paradox of Parental Consent

Why is the gate to recovery so often guarded by the source of the trauma? In A Solitary Gaze, author Jinseong Min confronts a fundamental ethical and legal dilemma: the “Paradox of Parental Consent.” In many legal systems, minors lack the autonomy to seek psychological treatment or medical intervention without a guardian’s signature. When the family environment itself is the site of abuse, this structure grants the “right of consent” to the perpetrator, effectively silencing the victim.

This book meticulously analyzes how this systemic flaw hamstrings early detection—rendering teachers, counselors, and even advanced behavioral recognition technologies powerless. It is a critical examination of how “familism” and the prioritization of parental rights can inadvertently create a vacuum of protection for the most vulnerable.

When Suffering is Converted into Currency

A central theme of this work is the “monetization of pain.” Min delves into the harrowing experience of survivors whose trauma is met not with empathy, but with a list of expenses. When parents evoke the money spent on tuition, living costs, or “investments” in a child’s future to deflect from emotional or physical harm, they are performing a radical act of erasure.

The narrative explores how this “investment-based parenting” shifts the relationship from one of care to one of debt. By reducing a child’s broken self to a numerical figure on a receipt, the trauma is isolated and the victim is retraumatized through social and familial denial. This book gives a name to this specific form of gaslighting and explores its long-term impact on autonomy and self-worth.

The Search for True Validation

Beyond the critique of systems and rhetoric, A Solitary Gaze is a journey toward reclaiming one’s narrative. It argues that the path to rebuilding a shattered self does not require financial compensation or “reasons to be grateful.” Instead, it requires the simple, radical act of acknowledgment.

Key Exploration Points:

• Institutional Barriers: Understanding why the threshold for help is highest for those in the greatest danger.

• The Rhetoric of Debt: How financial guilt is used as a tool of control within abusive family dynamics.

• Autonomy vs. Coercion: Analyzing the link between deprivation of choice and long-term depression in adolescence.

• The Path to Inner Peace: Moving away from the “calculation” of past years and toward the honest expression of one’s emotional scars.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is a vital resource for survivors seeking to understand the structural and psychological forces that kept them silent. It is also an essential read for legal professionals, social workers, and mental health advocates who wish to bridge the gap between institutional policy and the lived reality of childhood trauma.

Product Details

• Author: Jinseong Min (Mola Mola)

• Publication Date: 2026

• Category: Social Science / Psychology / Trauma & Human Rights

• Format: Digital PDF

• Language: English