Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents
Being a parent is usually all about giving of yourself to foster your child's growth and development. But what happens when this isn't the case? Some parents dismiss the needs of their children, asserting their own instead, demanding attention and reassurance from even very young children. This may especially be the case when a parent has narcissistic tendencies or narciss...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
April 1st 2008
by New Harbinger Publications
(first published December 31st 2000)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
627)
As I began reading, I quickly realized that it'd make a great drinking game to take a shot every time I ran across a typographical error but, fearing alcohol poisoning, I decided against it. Once I got past that and the sometimes-rambling, repetitive nature of the book, I realized it was really on point and wished I'd read it long ago when my mother had asked me to read the book, back when my father was still alive.
That said, as the book repeatedly mentions, therapy is your best option if this b...more
That said, as the book repeatedly mentions, therapy is your best option if this b...more
A recommended book from a friend in therapy.
I found it useful, it a little bit dated. The author makes the (quite common, IMHO) mistake of speaking to her audience with the assumption that they are primarily women. I presume this is an artifact of the 70's/80's, when men were more reluctant to engage in therapy.
That said, the book has a clear presentation of many of the issues that result from self absorbed parents and parenting-- and a clear picture of many of the issues that linger into adulth...more
I found it useful, it a little bit dated. The author makes the (quite common, IMHO) mistake of speaking to her audience with the assumption that they are primarily women. I presume this is an artifact of the 70's/80's, when men were more reluctant to engage in therapy.
That said, the book has a clear presentation of many of the issues that result from self absorbed parents and parenting-- and a clear picture of many of the issues that linger into adulth...more
May 04, 2013
Rua Brithem
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those who have lived life feeling like they're always wrong.
Recommended to Rua by:
Google
Shelves:
reference
Eye-opening, heartbreaking, and empowering at the same time. I am an adult child of a narcissistic mother and have lived my life being told what to think, do, and say. Any deviation was to be called bad, or bitch, or useless, or have to her say to me face 'I wish you were a better person'. I'd always thought there was something wrong with me and had no clue that something could be wrong with her. This book opened my eyes.
Gives strategies for dealing with narcissistic parents and how to take care...more
Gives strategies for dealing with narcissistic parents and how to take care...more
If you already know you're the child of a destructive narcissist, you can skip to the third chapter and start from there. I was hoping to find helpful strategies in the healing process to recover from this type of relationship, but did not find much guidance there. I can't say it's to the fault of this book, though. Anyone who has had a destructive narcissist in their life knows there isn't much you can do but focus on healing yourself. There are numerous exercises to perform towards the end of...more
So....I bought this book to try to "understand" my mother and somehow (possibly) moved towards forgiveness. sometimes when reading a chapter I'd forget it started to read to get to know my mother, it sounded like I was reading about ME. Chances are, if you had a narcissistic parent, some of those qualities/habits/etc may show up in your personality too.
So, um...yeah =)
So, um...yeah =)
Even if your parents aren't certified narcissistic, this book is a great dose of reality for anyone whose parents are or were overbearing and tough to handle. It's a nice piece of advice and guidance about ushering your parents into "retirement" from parenting you and monitoring your life's happenings.
This book is not really about narcissistic parents, it is a primer on narcissists, may they be your friend, partner, boss, et al. I don't want to malign my parents! For damage to be done, the narcissist must be a figure with power/sway/authority in your life.
It clearly details how to spot a narcissist, their tactics and how to avoid "catching" the devaluations that ensue.
Very clinical given the genre. The exercises -- if embraced -- are hooky but informative (I didn't do them). So, yeah, I rea...more
It clearly details how to spot a narcissist, their tactics and how to avoid "catching" the devaluations that ensue.
Very clinical given the genre. The exercises -- if embraced -- are hooky but informative (I didn't do them). So, yeah, I rea...more
I thought this would be helpful in relating to the person in my life who has a narcissistic parent, but it wasn't. It probably would have been more helpful to him than to me! Still, as self-help books, go, I guess it was fine.
I found this book right on target. It was a bit too
broad to really solve any issues, but still gave
useful pointers. Like the beginning of a trailhead.
I feel like I could read it in a year and get something
new out of it.
broad to really solve any issues, but still gave
useful pointers. Like the beginning of a trailhead.
I feel like I could read it in a year and get something
new out of it.
Redefines the popular definition of narcissism, which is helpful to understanding people who exhibit this behavior. After reading I was much more able to recognize destructive behavior in order to avoid it.
So far I learned you need to have the time to sit down with this one, it's actually a workbook so with a newborn it will take some time to finish. So far it's bang on no nonsense and smart.
This book is excellent. It teaches you how to deal with difficult people, and quite simply reinforces the "no contact" rule. Save yourself, and your sanity-read this book!
I bought this for a former friend, but found the insight useful myself. If you are the child of mental abuse, or the victim of one, this can be useful.
Excellent information but I came away, nearly in a panic with the thought that I was going to turn out with NPD as well. Having read a few more books, I understand a lot more clearly that I may have some issues, but all is not lost and not everyone reacts by becoming self-absorbed and hateful themselves. Also, I can work to help myself. So, I could not rate this more than a three.
If you grew up in this kind of situation, this book will blow your mind.
I used this for character research. Very enlightening
Ahh the things we read for CEU credit. :)
This is a must read for children with narcissistic parents. It walks the reader through, step by step, real life issues of adult children of NP with helpful exercises and insights to NPD.
There's a lot of good information here, organized for the A.D.H.D. folks (bonus). Worth your time.
So far this is an excellant book. It talks about our family of origin and how that can effect you and what you take from that that effects your own life and that of YOUR children. Lots of exercises to do and valuable information to help you drop off the old baggage and create new self talk!!!
Very helpful excercises in this book. Very insighful!!
Very helpful excercises in this book. Very insighful!!
From the title, I thought this book would be more helpful than it turned out to be. The focus was too much on the narcissist and dealing with them effectively, when I'm looking to understand my empathic side better, to find ways to protect myself and give myself space. I wanted the focus more to be on the "child" rather than the "parent."
I didn't really learn anything new reading this book. It is a good read for anyone just starting out to explore this topic. I can see where it can be really helpful with someone struggling to change their life and have effective relationships with people who act in selfish ways.
Mostly skimmed through the book, doing only some of the exercises. Thought it was interesting seeing myself and my family in it. It's a good support for when you're finding it difficult to deal with a narcissistic person. I'll probably pass it on in the family.
a lot of this is common sense and I know already, the great thing is it tells you how you might have some of the same qualities or could be going that way and what reactionary behaviors can be and how that effects you and how to deal with these types of people.
First half was alright, after that it digressed into a how-to fix-it book, which is denigrating to the depth of insight required to heal from narcissistic parenting.
I read this to better understand my stepchildren's dealings with their mother who is a narcissist. It was very interesting. I think my stepchildren could get much more out of this book than I could.
I am so glad to be done with this book. Some of the exercises were pretty good but mostly it just felt like busy work.
Recommended by a psychiatrist friend. Helped me understand myself and how I relate and/or don't relate to others.
A really well written, and helpful book on a topic I didn't even know existed until I picked it up.
Nov 07, 2008
Mindy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
half-finished,
self-help-how-to
This book was very insightful and helpful in understanding the unsolvable puzzle that is my father.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Nina W. Brown, Ed.D., LPC, is professor and eminent scholar in the Educational Leadership and Counseling Department at Old Dominion University. An expert on narcissism's effects on relationships, she is the author of ten books, including Children of the Self-Absorbed, Working with the Self-Absorbed and Whose Life is it Anyway?
More about Nina W. Brown...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Nov 14, 2008 05:00pm