• The Emotionally Absent Mother

  • Overcome Childhood Emotional Neglect and Begin to Heal Yourself
  • By: Michele Gilbert
  • Narrated by: Dora Gaunt
  • Length: 41 mins
  • 3.6 out of 5 stars (67 ratings)

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The Emotionally Absent Mother

By: Michele Gilbert
Narrated by: Dora Gaunt
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Publisher's summary

Life for you hasn't been easy.

You are currently in a relationship that is doing more harm than good and are working a job that you never seem to be able to execute perfectly. While others are enjoying life in all of its fullness, you feel like you are in a rat race that gets more competitive by the minute. "What is my problem?" you ask, "Why can't I just sit back and enjoy life?" Blame it on your mother.

That's right!

Your mom and her emotional absence has a lot to do with your current state in life.

The Emotionally Absent Mother will delve into your mother's apathy, and why such a lack of compassion may not be her fault. This audiobook will also help you find ways to cope with the pain that you suffered as a child, as well as look past the scars to see a better future.

When you download The Emotionally Absent Mother: Overcome Childhood Emotional Neglect and Begin to Heal Yourself you'll learn:

  • What emotional absence is
  • Mom wasn't there.... How to deal with it
  • How to try forgiveness
  • How to let the past stay there
  • How to embrace the future

Would you like to know more? Download your copy today!

©2015 Michele Gilbert (P)2015 Michele Gilbert

What listeners say about The Emotionally Absent Mother

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    4 out of 5 stars
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very helpful

Dear Michelle;
The absent mother was a great start to my journey of recovery. My issue is that I am 40 years old and am only now looking back at the extent she was absent. Your book, which I listen to often, can only be a starting point as I am just now learning how truly apathetic she was. Furthermore, what do you do as an adult, when your formerly absent mother suddenly wants your company all of the time. This could literally be ONE minute after receiving texts from her about what a terrible person you are. For example at 5:08 "you're not a good daughter. you're not nice. you're killing me!!" with zero provocation from me. 5:09 "can u come meet me for dinner?? I'm at the bar across the street." What about the fact that I'm sober and probably shouldn't be in a bar. Does it even cross her mind or is she purely trying to get her needs met with no consideration for mine. I will always listen to this book as a summary. I need something for the adult children of these people who are just now looking back only to discover "wow, they weren't there at all. Coming home to money on the countertop for dinner every night wasn't the considerate, loving parental action I thought it to be. Business dinners with my father took precedence. In short, what is there for those of us who are adults, just discovering this now, with aging patents who now want OUR love and support, and get angry when can't yet find it in ourselves to even look at them during this phase of recovery. Thank you for starting this journey for me. Rosemarie.mercurio@gmail.com

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Emotionally Absent Mother

Would you consider the audio edition of The Emotionally Absent Mother to be better than the print version?

Yes I would

What did you like best about this story?

I have a lot of anger issues with my Mom and the mere title of the book caught my attention and I was curious. I actually may listen to this one again. There were several points of topic that I took note of and plan to use.

What about Dora Gaunt’s performance did you like?

Very calming voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes I did. The topic was personal to my own life I plan to make reference of it to improve my own situation with my Mother.

Any additional comments?

Thank you for this.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Audiobook Full of Good Ideas to help survivors

THE EMOTIONALLY ABSENT MOTHER

Author: Michele Gilbert

Type of Book: Audiobook - Unabridged

Narrator: Dora Gaunt

Length: 41 minutes

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self Help, Mental Health

Release Date: June 15, 2015

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS:

"Life for you hasn't been easy.

You are currently in a relationship that is doing more harm than good,, and are working a job that you never seem to be able to execute perfectly. While others are enjoying life in all of its fullness, you feel like you are in a rat race that gets more competitive by the minute. “What is my problem,” you ask. “Why can’t I just sit back and enjoy life?” Blame it on your mother.

That’s right!
Your mom and her emotional absence has a lot to do with your current state in life.
Emotionally Absent Mothers will delve into your mother’s apathy, and why such lack of compassion may not be her fault. This book will also help you find ways to cope with the pain that you suffered as a child, as well as look past the scars to see a better future."

My Opinions and Audiobook Review:

I am probably not the perfect person to review this audiobook since I do not believe in blaming your parents for all your problems as an adult.

** However, I do believe that there really are people out there who were severely emotionally neglected as a child. I agree that neglect in any form is a horrible thing for any child to have to endure and I do believe that it can lead to permanent psychological damage.

The author does a good job of describing actual scenarios and offering examples of what an emotionally absent mother is like.

My innate skepticism comes into play when people use this as an excuse for poor or destructive behavior.

I do not believe that everyone who claims to have had an emotionally absent parent actually had one. I think that there needs to be a pattern of neglect. One instance of your mother not praising you does not mean that your mother was emotionally absent.

To come up with a (for lack of a better description) diagnosis of "Emotionally Absent" I believe that the parent in question must have consistently shown a lack of empathy and emotion towards their child throughout their formative years. If this is what happened in that child's life, I agree 100% that it would cause emotional and mental scarring that could easily affect that child long into adulthood.

The author does write some terrific ideas on how to help someone overcome any mental health issues that have arisen due to their childhood. She firmly places the onus on the previously neglected child to heal themselves. She is quite correct in stating that you cannot change someone else's behavior, you can only change how you respond to that behavior.

I think the author should have included a chapter containing information on how to determine if your mother was really emotionally absent. It is easy to blame someone else for all your problems and it seems to be very popular to "just blame your parents" for everything. As I wrote above, I DO believe this is a serious and "real" issue, I just do not believe that everyone who claims to have had an emotionally absent parent actually had one.

There are some terrific strategies offered on this audiobook that have the potential to aid a great many people.

Because of the heaviness of the subject matter I was very glad to have the audiobook version. It made it seem less dry and narrator D. Gaunt does a wonderful job with difficult subject matter. She has a great sense of timing and her voice draws the listener into the subject matter. I rate the narration of this audiobook as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The audiobook itself I rate as 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

I found this topic interesting and I am glad I listened to this audiobook. If it had contained more statistical information as well as more quotes and opinions from experts I might have rated it a bit higher. However, I do believe that this book will be helpful for those who legitimately suffer from this condition.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Victim shaming

Talk about making someone who was unloved feel guilty for having feelings about the person who was supposed to love and care for them. this was terrible!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Felt Like Cliff Notes for Many Therapy Styles

This book was not good. It felt flat, like therapy from fridge magnets, full of clichés and advice like "just move forward". Although I believe the author was genuinely interested in conveying insightful information, the content seemed to lack a clear path or concept. In addition, the short format is a good indicator that only so much information can be gleaned from this read. For the small cost, you might get a sentence or two that maybe clicks for you but not much more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Points

I liked the fact that, although short, was straight to the point. It’s a guide towards healing and finding other resources and ways to heal from the effects of your past. It also has a systematic approach to stop the recycling of your past on to your own kids.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good

The book was good. Had good information . Was too short for me. I needed more .

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good read, short but good

only complain is that it is too short for how good it is. The content is delivered in a clear concise manner that allows all people to enjoy and understand the need message.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

meh

recording sounded muted, as if read by a computer, and the book didn't have much substance.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Too Short

not enough detail. could have used more in depth explaining and explanation of why a mother is emotionally detached. too robotic in the narrator.

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