It was definitely an emotional read as I found things I related to. So I recommend reading it slowly and in your own space where you can really take it all in. But enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do YOU think of me?” - Bette Midler as CC Bloom in Beaches. No matter how you feel today as a result of your relationship with your mother, know that your experience is valid. And it’s possible to heal and recover from the long-term impacts of having a mother with narcissistic tendencies. Learn about narcissism

By communicating your experiences, you can encourage others to open up instead of shutting down. Chodron also discusses numerous helpful practices for reversing negative habitual patterns that result from childhood abuse . She goes on to discuss how to handle chaotic situations and create effective social action. She helps you learn how to stand in the truth that you are well despite the abuse and chaos that surrounds. These techniques can help anyone affected by a narcissistic mother. Final Thoughts With this book, you learn how a narcissist’s mind works and how they manipulate people emotionally. You also get an understanding of how you are affected by having a narcissistic mother.

If you need to focus on yourself and how to effect change in your life after dealing with a narcissistic mother, this book may be for you. It gives you clarity on what your path to healing should consist of. Disclaimer: this is an incredibly long review, because I have found this book to be a breakthrough for me DESPITE NOT HAVING A NARCASSISTIC MOTHER. I found working through this book irreplaceable to healing as the child of a broken, abusive home; broken extended family; broken community; and, broken communist state. I'm hoping this review will help women whose mothers did the best they could, but were too broken to love their child unconditionally. If your mother blamed you for problems as a child, you might naturally feel like everything is your fault as an adult, too. (Friendly reminder: It’s not.)

Schedule the time you will spend with your mother. Do not allow for an open-door policy. Time spent together can be scheduled with a firm start and end time. This allows for less steamrolling behavior and gives you a light at the end of the tunnel if you are beginning to become drained by her behavior. That being said, I would say this book is more an eye-opener than much else. Bear with me - it does explain what a narcissistic mother is, how these women's daughters grow up and the adults these girls become, but I didn't find it very helpful otherwise. While maintaining a healthy relationship with a narcissistic mother is not easy, it is possible. Here are a few suggestions that may help to guide the relationship towards shared peace:My loving mother's emotional problems stem from PTSD from her seriously abusive home, coupled with unhealthy behaviors derived from an unstable childhood (depressed mother, no food or textiles available making survival vs. intimacy the priority, state quota housing that makes it almost impossible to escape an abusive home, and the community selfishness that is par for the course with extremely limited basic resources). She has done her best to actively love me in the best way she knew how, and I am blessed to be so loved. What she has not been able to give me because of her own brokenness and paradigms, I am working through now. What hit home was the generational pattern. The last thing I want is to gift-wrap my biological mother's worst qualities and pass them down to my kid. This book helped me see the landmines in my path and taught me how not to plant new ones for my child.

The Emotionally Absent Mother, Updated and Expanded Second Edition: How to Recognize and Heal the Invisible Effects of Childhood Emotional Neglect by Jasmin Lee Cori This writer dissects the personality traits of narcissists and people similar to narcissists. Due to having lived with narcissists, the writer is able to give an insight of narcissism that is seasoned with personal experience. Alice Miller was renowned for her work on childhood trauma, and in this book, she discusses the enduring effects it has on your ability to deal with feelings of repressed anger and pain. She notes that many of the most successful people suffer with feelings of emptiness and alienation. From experienced family therapist Dr. Karyl McBride, Will I Ever Be Good Enough? is an essential guide to recovery for women with selfish, emotionally abusive, and toxic mothers—designed to help daughters reclaim their lives. This book is a good place to start, although I did feel that it often reinforced the misconception that managing a narcissistic mother was the responsibility of the daughter in this mother-daughter relationship. It is not.This book is an excellent guide to how to shed your learned narcissistic tendencies. It encourages you to assess your relationships and gain new insights as to how to identify a narcissist. Posting this review scares me so much. There is so much shame and aloneness that comes with this situation. It’s a situation I’ve been trying to navigate for around 2 years. Healing the Adult Children of Narcissists: Essays on The Invisible War Zone and Exercises for Recovery by Shahida Arabi I am my own worst critic." These are the words I lived by me entire life. What will people think of me? What if they think I am stupid? What if I’m not pretty enough? What if…what if…what if!!! Then I met Dr. Karyl McBride and my “what if” changed to “so what." Believe me writing it is much simpler than living it. The deep rooted narcissistic abuse I lived every day with my mother defined me. I allowed it to define me. I allowed it to run my life, stop me from living my dreams and from feeling and experiencing true love. I am so grateful for my therapeutic time with Dr. Karyl. Understanding how the maternal narcissism I grew up with has controlled the rest of my life as an adult, and then actually changing this for myself, has been a flight of freedom for me. I can’t wait until Dr. Karyl’s book comes out. There are so many of us who need this book. I wish more people had access to the therapy she offers here in Denver as it certainly changed my life in ways I never dreamed possible."