Book excerpt: Stephen Wolinsky brings us full circle in understanding the reality of our inner child. Rather than being always "precious", Dr. Wolinsky shows us the dysfunctional shadow side of our inner child and puts us in touch with those frozen, inner-child memories or trance states that keep creating problems by filtering reality through outmoded, limited, and distorted lenses. The Next Step is to, finally, own and acknowledge this dark side and step out of our inner-child trance into the present time and uninterrupted awareness.