recommended

thanks for sharing your story. My mums main focus is her ailments and her self. I am glad I am not alone. I wish you the best .

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Therapy in a book

I could have written this story. It was amazing and emotional to hear another woman experience what you had, think the same thoughts and feel the same turmoil. Calmly and beautifully read, a poignant story of a mother and a daughter, a daughter who wanted that loving relationship, but couldn't have it. Heartbreaking really. The positive is that we have learnt how not to do motherhood and surround our loved ones with warmth and compassion! Not enough is shared about mothers who damage their families. Glad this book is out there.

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Interestingly Sad

A compelling read - a brilliant insight into a complex world of family life and habitual lies and deceit surrounding fabricated parental illness.

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Worth a listen

I enjoyed it overall although I found it rather long drawn out. What a strange, awful and fascinating woman her mother was.
I found the repetitive references to being middle class a bit irritating as I don't feel it's a point that deserves so much emphasis in the context of the woman having this condition.
She was obviously very mentally ill and that's sad but I find other reviews berating the author for not being more sympathetic to her mother pretty judgemental, her daughter is totally entitled to her feelings based on her experiences and I hope she continues well on her healing journey.

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The Appitomy of survival.

Very moving and unbelievably raw. Sadly recognising aspects of my own childhood and its complex dynamics. A sad waste of not living, to feed upon the thrill of I'll health and its medical attention.
We'll done Helen for sharing, surviving and living your best life. X

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An education

I learned so much about my own upbringing.
This book has explained so many of the issues of my upbringing and my mother's unusual and unexplainable behaviour.
Like a light being switched on. Nothing to the extent of ealanors behaviour but so many similarities. Thank you for recording all of the painful experiences.

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A must read

Loved the book.
Hard hitting at times but beautifully written, MDP is a cruel illness not really talked about.. Its definitely opened my eyes to a world i had very little knowledge of.

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an incredible story

what a brave woman, and her heartbreaking story. i gave it 5 stars. incredible

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This book really helped in getting answers.

For years I knew deep down inside that my mother in law was faking most of her symptoms but I kept telling myself it can’t be this because it wasn’t more serious than bouts of weeks of constant hospital visits and attention seeking. She would do it every 3 months or when something important was happening in our lives. I was trying to justify that no mother would put her kids through something so malicious. The shows she would put on were very psychotic - almost like an exorcism and then she would be very calm and serene when she was left in hospital overnight under professional supervision.

Because she’s not my mum, I was able to listen to this book and relate to our own experiences over the last 8 years.

I used to think that surely the psychiatrist would pick up on it if it was the case but they don’t unless family members request to speak their mind. I requested a private meeting with my mother in laws psychiatrist and I went in equipped with lots of proof that she was “putting it on” and a month later she was discharged and put under a team where she belongs. The advice was for us to set boundaries and stop giving her the attention she was doing it for and they’ve stopped most of her medication and started CBT now.

All thanks to this book making me realise that the manipulation is slow and can be done over many many years and keeping a notebook for when the claims don’t add up will help. My partner then realised his mum has always done this- you just never think your mum is faking it until you see it with your own eyes.

The worst part is that there’s no actual medical treatment for this mental illness other than managing the person who’s got it by implementing boundaries and the appropriate therapy applied by a professional who’s aware of their ways.


Thank you for the book!

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Totally Fascinating!

Excellent story, totally shocking as it's true. Well written and narrated. Well worth a read if you know someone like this, a real eye-opener.

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