Good Kids

Why You Suffered in Silence and How to Break the Cycle with Your Kids

De: Maggie Nick

"An old soul" ... "a delight to have in class" ... "so mature for your age"

If you grew up as a Good Kid, you probably heard these words a lot. You spent your entire childhood trying to be good, earn your place, hold everything together, and be easy and lovable. And it worked! All it cost was a childhood of bottling your emotions, putting everyone's needs before your own, and constantly watching everyone around you for the slightest sign of upset.

Written by a trauma therapist and parenting expert, Good Kids unpacks the "Good Kid" persona and the effects of relational shame trauma. This form of trauma doesn't always come from outright neglect or abuse; it grows in subtle, wordless exchanges, in how your emotions were ignored or dismissed, in the unspoken rules that taught you that not upsetting anyone was more important than how you felt.

But you don't have to keep dragging around all that shame and self-doubt. You can rest. You can practice taking up space and having needs, preferences and opinions - without apologizing. And you can guide your own kids through those same messy human moments that we weren't allowed to have.

You can stop shapeshifting and start coming home to who you really are, and it all starts with ditching being a Good Kid.

©2026 Maggie Nick (P)2026 Hachette UK Limited

Reseñas de la Crítica

Good Kids is a deeply profound, paradigm-shifting love letter to anyone who grew up believing they had to earn love by being "good." With warm compassion, clinical wisdom, and tender vulnerability, Maggie Nick guides us back to the truth all "Good Kids" needed to know: that we have always been inherently lovable and worthy. This book is a compassionate guide for the cycle-breakers who are ready to heal the shame we've carried for too long so we can raise children who know deep in their bones that they are seen, safe, and unconditionally loved. If you're reparenting yourself while raising your kids, Good Kids is an absolute must-read. (Shelly Robinson, Founder, Raising Yourself)

As a reformed good kid and parent, Good Kids is THE exclusive guide you need for how to break perfectionism cycles. As a therapist, I cannot wait to share this with clients. (Amanda White, LPC, Therapist, Author of Not Drinking Tonight, Founder, Therapy For Women)

As a therapist and mother, I know how many of us learned to survive childhood by quieting our needs, managing other people's emotions, and performing for love. Maggie Nick writes with such honesty and compassion that you can't help but feel both seen and understood. This book transforms the pain of the 'good kid' narrative into a path of healing, reminding us that authenticity is reclaimable and cycle breaking is within reach. (Bryana Kappadakunnel, LMFT, Therapist, Author of Parent Yourself First and Founder of Conscious Mommy)

This one hit deep. It peeled back the "good kid" mask I wore so many years and made me feel seen. The tone is gentle but firm, and the insights stuck with me long after reading. (Sylvan Banes)