Showing titles in Dysfunctional Families

Film and television director Barry Sonnenfeld's outrageous and hilarious memoir traces his idiosyncratic upbringing in New York City, his breaking into film as a cinematographer with the Coen brothers, and his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black, and beloved work like Get Shorty, Pushing Daises, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Barbara was 12 when she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital Aston Hall in 1971. From a troubled home, she'd hoped she would find sanctuary there. But during her stay, Barbara was systematically drugged and abused by its head physician, Dr Kenneth Milner. Somehow, eventually, she started to campaign for answers. This is a shocking account of how vulnerable children were preyed upon by the doctor entrusted with their care.

In this groundbreaking audiobook, Avery Neal, founder of the Women's Therapy Clinic, helps you recognize the warning signs of subtle abuse. As you are able to identify patterns that have never made sense before, you are better equipped to make changes. An expert in the field, Neal has guided countless individuals to regain their self-esteem, their joy, and their lives. From letting go of fear to setting boundaries, If He's So Great, Why Do I Feel So Bad? will help you enjoy a happy, healthy, fulfilling life, free of shame or blame.

One misty evening, Jennings Michael Burch's mother, too sick to care for him, left her eight-year-old son at an orphanage with the words, "I'll be right back." She wasn't.... Shuttled through a bleak series of foster homes, orphanages, and institutions, Jennings never remained in any of them long enough to make a friend. Instead, he clung to a tattered stuffed animal named Doggie, his sole source of comfort in a frightening world. Here, in his own words, Jennings Michael Burch reveals the abuse and neglect he experienced during his lost childhood.

In a forgotten corner of Wales, a young girl languishes in a home for troubled children. Abandoned by her parents because of her violent streak, Jessie - at the age of 10 - is at risk of becoming just another lost soul in the foster system. Precocious and bold, Jessie is convinced she is possessed by the devil and utterly unprepared for the arrival of therapist Torey Hayden. Armed with patience, compassion, and unconditional love, Hayden begins working with Jessie once a week. Then, Jessie makes a stunning accusation against one of Hayden’s colleagues.

Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world - until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence. Nothing in all of Torey Hayden's experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her - a story too horrendous for Torey's professional colleagues to acknowledge.

Four audiobooks in one. This is the most powerful collection of audiobooks on codependency, narcissistic, and emotional abuse recovery that will help you deal with, stop suffering, heal, and finally start living life free from manipulative, abusive, and toxic people.

A compassionate, humorous story of faith, betrayal, and coming of age on the sawdust trail. She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent revivalist David Terrell, and before long, Donna Johnson was part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher’s inner circle. At seventeen, she left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger-than-fiction memories.

Lynn was the carefree daughter of a Miami undercover narcotics agent—until her dad snuck out of their house in the dark of night without so much as a glance back. She never understood what happened to him until she was in high school, and he was in prison for drug smuggling. By then, Lynn had developed a massive drug and alcohol habit of her own. It was the perfect setup for her to latch onto the only connection to her dad that remained once he was paroled from prison—cocaine.

In order to overcome a narcissistic relationship, there are two ways out: Be discarded for the final time from the narcissist, or go no contact and cut yourself away from your abuser. Neither option is pretty, and I can’t deny that both are painful. However, when you claim back your power by making the decision to go no contact, you give yourself the ability to leave the relationship with dignity, newfound self-respect, and the makings of a solid foundation to build your future on.

In this book, Raven has included firsthand tried-and-true meditations and exercises for you to recover and gain your sparkle back after narcissistic abuse. More than 20 healing resources: guided meditations, exercises, and journal prompts for healing, human design, and astrology concepts. Empath protection guided meditation included.

In Love Is a Burning Thing, Nina interrogates what happens to those undiagnosed and unseen. This is a transfixing, moving portrait of a mother-daughter relationship that also examines mental health, stigma, poverty, and gender—and the role that spirituality plays within each. Nina’s writing skirts the mystical, untangles it, and ultimately illuminates it with brilliance.

A young boy suffers amnesia from a trauma he suffered in what feels like must have been another life. He's adopted into a wealthy family - but what will happen when he learns the truth about his past?

By age 30, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: she had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD—a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.

Becoming Allies identifies and examines abusive and controlling behaviors, explains the underlying beliefs that drive them, and teaches specific, concrete techniques for changing them. It is nothing short of a lifeline for people who want to stop their abusive and controlling behaviors and improve their relationships with themselves, their partners, and their loved ones.

Sexual abuse is the secret shame that lies deep within. Men hold on to this secret shame for an average of 25 years before they disclose the hurt and pain they have endured and carried from sexual abuse perpetrated by another male. As men disclose their abuse, it is important to examine how the abuse changed their thinking and behavior. A good majority of men were abused before puberty. The research shows that men, on average, are abused around the age of eight or nine, while in the latency stage of development.

Michelle Stevens has a photo of the exact moment her childhood was stolen from her: She's only eight years old, posing for her mother's boyfriend, Gary Lundquist - an elementary school teacher, neighborhood stalwart, and brutal pedophile. Later that night Gary locks Michelle in a cage, tortures her repeatedly, and uses her to quench his voracious and deviant sexual whims. Little does she know that this will become her new reality for the next six years.

This easy-to-understand book explains the standard process from start to finish - through being completely bowled over and convinced that one has found their true soul mate to the games and tests narcissists play once the partner has been successfully seduced. This is a form of narcissistic handbook, essential to keep close at hand when our head is saying one thing but our heart is saying another.

Angie, 6, and sister Polly, 4, are utterly distraught when they arrive to stay with foster carer Cathy Glass. Their older half-sister Ashleigh has accused their father of rape, and the two young sisters have been removed from home to keep them safe. Cathy tries to comfort the girls, but they are inconsolable. They just want their mummy and daddy, who they love dearly. The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong.

Do you feel like you are living a lie? Do you always feel at fault? Do you doubt every move you make? Are relationships like war zones in your life? Do you attract toxic situations? Do you shrink inside your uncomfortable skin? These are some of the many valid emotions that arise from dysfunctional interaction with a narcissistic carer. Being born to a narcissistic mother can be one of the most destructive scenarios to face, and some daughters never find peace, not even after the death of their mother. This book addresses the realities of maternal narcissistic victimization.