BookView Review

Part memoir, part psychological unpacking, part survival manual, Grayhurst’s compelling book is an act of reclamation: of selfhood, of sanity, and of motherhood untainted by inherited abuse. The book weaves memoir with education, drawing clear lines between personal anecdotes and broader psychological patterns. Grayhurst’s narrative is unflinching. She explores not just the abuse she endured, but the complicit systems that allowed it: the siblings who internalized the family mythology, the “divide and conquer” tactics of her mother, and society’s tendency to romanticize motherhood regardless of a woman’s behavior. 

Chapters such as “The Good Mother Disguise,” “The Divide and Conquer Strategy,” and “This Stops with Me” traces Grayhurst’s journey, while providing readers with frameworks to recognize and name their own experiences. The poetic interludes, like the tender piece addressed to her daughter, add moments of breath and beauty, reminding the reader of what’s at stake: the future, not just the past. Ultimately, the book is not just about narcissistic abuse. It is about survival. It is about choosing love, not fear. It is about the unglamorous, often agonizing work of becoming the mother you never had and giving yourself the love no one else could offer. 

Essential reading for daughters of narcissistic mothers, and for anyone committed to healing the invisible wounds of childhood.

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