Dysfunctional Childhood

Writer Peg Streep lays out seven distinct but interconnected stages on the path to reclaim your life from the effects of a toxic childhood: "discover", "discernment", "distinguish", "disarm", "reclaim", "redirect", and "recover". Each step is clearly explained and richly detailed with the stories of other women. With approaches drawn from psychology and other disciplines and with unique exercises, the book will help the listener tackle her own self-doubt and become consciously aware of how her mother's treatment continues to shape her behavior.

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered is she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and...

It is estimated that as many as 34 million people grew up in alcoholic homes. But what about the rest of us? What about families that had no alcoholism, but did have perfectionism, workaholism, compulsive overeating, intimacy problems, depression, problems in expressing feelings, plus all the other personality traits that can produce a family system much like an alcoholic one? Countless millions of us struggle with these kinds of dysfunctions every day, and until very recently we struggled alone.

Were you abused as a child? Gary was. He was born in a small town in rural South Carolina to alcoholic parents who abused and neglected him. For the first twenty years of his life, he was trapped in a world of anxiety, fear, and self-loathing. Tormented daily at home and bullied at school, he was the ideal candidate to pass along the same abuse to his children. . . or worse. Instead of perpetuating the sadistic behavior, he decided it was enough. It would stop here, with him. Gary’s story, heartbreaking and gut-wrenching though it may be, is, above all, uplifting and inspiring. Overcoming...

Author Talia Kendrix awakens an array of emotions with The House on Fairview, stirring up a hunger for our most basic need… the need to survive. We are immediately swept into young Talia’s life as she gives us the riveting details from her point of view, beginning with her parents’ divorce and progressing through a series of horrific events that are relatable and all too common. Used and abused in every way, Talia repeatedly gets knocked down by the harsh realities of life as she learns what it means to fight for hers. She grows up confused and rebellious, desperately yearning to be ...

9-year-old Nichole and her parents are evicted from their home because both of her parents are addicted to heroin. With nowhere left to turn, they are now homeless. In order to survive they must dig through dumpsters, beg, and steal. While living on the streets, Nichole struggles to understand why people treat them differently.

"It’s a dark story that forced me to think more expansively about what constitutes a cult." —The New York Times' Ernesto Londoño "Although this is Mestyanek Young’s first time narrating, listeners will appreciate hearing this deeply personal story told by the author herself. Share with...

‘A powerful, harrowing and courageous book.’ - Piers Morgan 'An extraordinarily vivid, raw must-read. Toula writes with a powerful resilience and a big-hearted capacity to love - a vital glimpse into the inner world of a survivor.' - Nel Walker, Trauma Therapist (Retired) The complete memoir from Toula Mavridou-Messer. From the age of five, Toula was sexually abused by her mother’s partner for fifteen long years. The terror shaped every moment of her childhood and left her with severe complex PTSD that she carries to this day. In this raw, unflinching account - originally shared as ...

The unforgettable story of a young woman's odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes on her journey to redemption. Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her...

What if you’re the lucky one? At sixty-five years old, William Aperance was proud of the life he’d built: a comfortable home in upstate New York, a successful career managing country clubs, and, most importantly, a happy family. Despite growing up in poverty and neglect, with a sense that he never quite belonged, William and his wife, Kim, had created a loving home for their three children. But with retirement on the horizon, one Christmas gift challenged everything. The results from the DNA kit under the tree rocked the foundations of his identity, and everything he thought he knew ...

“Wickedly funny and always movingly illuminating, thanks to kick-ass storytelling and a poet's ear.” –Oprah.com The New York Times bestselling, hilarious tale of Mary Karr’s hardscrabble Texas childhood that Oprah.com calls the best memoir of a generation. The Liars’ Club took the...

Was your mother preoccupied, distant, or even demeaning? Have you struggled with relationships - or with your own self-worth? Often, the grown children of emotionally absent mothers can't quite put a finger on what's missing from their lives. The children of abusive mothers, by contrast, may recognize the abuse - but overlook its lasting, harmful effects. Psychotherapist Jasmin Lee Cori has helped thousands of men and women heal the hidden wounds left by every kind of undermothering.

“Toxic Family Survival Guide” is for anyone who wants to give themselves a fighting chance at happiness and peace in their life, no matter what their early years subjected them to.

Did you grow up feeling unseen, unheard, or unimportant in your own home? Maybe your parents were emotionally distant, overly critical, or made you feel like your needs were a burden. Perhaps you learned early on to hide your feelings, take on adult responsibilities as a child, or strive for perfection just to feel loved and accepted. These experiences don’t stay in the past—they often follow us into adulthood, shaping how we see ourselves and relate to others. But here’s the good news: your past doesn’t have to define your future. In I Didn’t Choose to Be Born, certified early ...

In an all too familiar scenario, played out in millions of homes every day, children who grow up in addictive families abide by certain rules: don't talk, don't trust, don't feel. The rigid survival roles and youthful coping behaviors they take on, such as the responsible child, the adjuster, the placater, and the acting-out child can eventually contribute to problems of depression, loneliness, and addiction in adulthood.

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but...

Winner of the 2018 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Longlisted for British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction 2018 Shortlisted for the 2018 Evelyn Richardson Non-fiction Award Shortlisted for the 2018 Atlantic Book Awards - Margaret and John Savage First Book...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon, Jeannette Walls’s gripping novel "transports us with her powerful storytelling...contemplates the extraordinary bravery needed to confront real-life demons in a world where the hardest thing to do may be to...

Did you grow up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), or you suspect they did? Was your parent's behavior unpredictable or scary? Did it seem like they were angry one minute and happy the next? Were your basic needs ignored? If so, it wasn't your fault. This compassionate guide offers a trauma-informed approach to help you recover from your toxic childhood and discover the person you were truly meant to be. You'll learn how to identify emotional and developmental wounds, and discover why interactions with your parents were so harmful to your sense of self.

Award winner in the Religion: Christian Inspirational category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest; Silver Medal Winner in the 2020 Illumination Book Awards; and 3rd Place Winner in the 2019 Xulon Press Christian Author Awards Contests, Biography/Memoir Category. The inspirational true story of God sparing a young girl from being murdered and later transforming her life, as seen on The 700 Club. By age twelve, Mary Therese Hutchinson had survived not one, not two, but four attempts on her life. Even worse, the assailant and man who had sexually abused her for years ...