Losing Her, Finding Me

A Mother's Story of Estrangement and Self-Discovery

By: Michelle Rohlf

Narrated by: Michelle Rohlf

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

How does a mother who put her entire identity into her baby the moment she came into the world find herself again when, years later, her grown child cuts all ties?

Michelle Rohlf's unwanted estrangement from her daughter Naomi strips her of everything . . . her grandchildren, her peace of mind, and most of all, herself. In spite of her broken heart and broken spirit, she embarks on a three-year journey of healing and forgiveness, discovering the impact her own upbringing had on her attachment to her daughter. But just as Michelle learns that her life isn't over because her daughter walked away, Naomi shows up again, without apology or explanation.

Much to Michelle's surprise, this reappearance challenges her own recovery from codependency. She finds herself in a struggle to hold on to the sense of self she fought so hard to gain. This is the story of a woman who had to lose her daughter in order to find the identity she'd never really had.

If you are a parent who has become estranged from your child, there is hope. You are not alone in this journey of rejection. The first step toward healing is to work on yourself. Find your own life apart from your child, because you are valuable and the world needs you.

©2022 Michelle Rohlf (P)2022 One Audiobooks

Wanted to love it.

As a fellow rejected parent, I truly wanted to love this book. I am glad the author found herself in the end. The book though was hard to stay interested in. To many details especially in the beginning.

I think this book is very good

I appreciate the author sharing her story. As a mother of an estranged daughter I went through similar situation. Estrangement seems to be the new attitude of this generation towards their parents and it shatters our expectations of a normal relationship with the person we love immensely. Thank you for sharing your story Michelle.

I understand all too well.

Thank you for writing this book to in some way possibly help us abandoned parents learn that when our children grow up and start a family of their own, we must continue on with ours. This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through and I pray daily for that spiritual awakening.

what did I do wrong?

love to resentment to blame to no contact. Being there done that.

as the title of my review says....I have questioned myself over and over. I have done an autopsy of my motherhood to seek a reason for validating whatever feelings of resentment my daughter might have.

Michelle's experience is no different to mine. it seemed as a reenactment of the last 8 yrs. Her journey, her thoughts, her tears, a mother's heart brought to pieces, looking for the answer that could give me comfort and peace.

Kudos to the author for at last I can HEAR a real story of being an estranged mother. Listening to her narrating what she had gone thru, and still is, really touched me. Her voice, her words, her thoughts, her feeling that she wanted to die....Her journey reflects my journey and the conclusion might not be the happy ending at movies...it does a wonderful thing: understanding that we are individuals, that motherhood doesn't define us. For life is God's present, and it can't be wasted, not even for our children. it's not about dignity, it's about self love, about compassion for ourselves and the realization that there's more to life that we need to reach out.

Poorly written.

This is a poorly organized and written account of a very painful story. I beleive the author finds some resolution,but the lack of details and poor writing leaves the listener out.