Showing titles in Dysfunctional Families

After a horrific car crash, two parents are left dead, and a young girl is fighting for her life in hospital. When 13-year-old Louisa wakes to find that her loving, happy family has been shattered overnight, she is forced to seek comfort in the arms of a stranger. But can Maggie find a way to bond with this teenager overwhelmed with anger and grief? And will she regret making a decision that will affect her and Louisa for the rest of their lives?

Covert narcissism is a hidden and concealed form of narcissism, making it all the more difficult for the abuser to be confronted or "outed" for their behavior. Covert narcissism is a passive-aggressive, hostile, and toxic form of abuse that makes victims feel hopeless, unheard, hurt, and confused by the abusers' behavior.

If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. This breakthrough audio course was created to help you revive your self-confidence and sense of self, value your own needs, and move forward in your life. Your instructor, Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD, has dedicated her professional life to helping adult children of emotionally immature parents (ACEIPs). She speaks to you from the heart with a warm, empathetic tone as she takes you on a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

Foster carer Maggie Hartley is used to all manner of children arriving on her doorstep, but nothing can prepare her for sisters Billy and Bo when they arrive at her home. It is clear from the moment she sets eyes on them that four-year-old Bo and seven-year-old Billy have clearly been subjected to unimaginable neglect, and it takes all of Maggie's skills as a foster carer to try to connect with the volatile little girls, who seem far younger than their years. 

Based on the public television series of the same name, Bradshaw On: The Family is John Bradshaw's seminal work on the dynamics of families that has sold more than a million copies since its original publication in 1988. Here, you will discover the cause of emotionally impaired families. You will learn how unhealthy rules of behavior are passed down from parents to children, and the destructive effect this process has on our society.

At just 10 years old, Kirsty has suffered a lifetime of heartache. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's her fault. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home, and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth.

What possesses a mum to kidnap her own child? That's what Maggie asks herself when she's asked to foster 13-year-old Saskia, the subject of a bitter custody battle between her parents. When Saskia's mum Rosa fears the courts are going to favour her ex-husband, James, she takes matters into her own hands. With Rosa facing criminal charges, and Saskia refusing to live with her dad, her future looks uncertain. Will Maggie be able to step in and discover the bombshell that will tear this family apart?

This is the second volume of true, heinous child-abuse stories.

Was your mother preoccupied, distant, or even demeaning? Have you struggled with relationships - or with your own self-worth? Often, the grown children of emotionally absent mothers can't quite put a finger on what's missing from their lives. The children of abusive mothers, by contrast, may recognize the abuse - but overlook its lasting, harmful effects. Psychotherapist Jasmin Lee Cori has helped thousands of men and women heal the hidden wounds left by every kind of undermothering.

When Zoe was taken into care at the age of 13, she thought she was finally going to escape from the cruel abuse she had suffered throughout her childhood. Then social services placed her in a residential unit known to be 'a target for prostitution', and suddenly Zoe's life was worse than it had...

Fourteen-year-old Shazia has been taken into care after a conversation at school leads her teacher to suspect that the teenager's family are planning to send her to Pakistan for an arranged marriage. To her family's fury, Shazia is sent to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley whilst social services investigate. But with Shazia denying everything and social services unable to find any evidence to support the teacher's fears, Shazia is allowed to return home.

But It’s Your Family is a remarkable account of what it means to cut ties to toxic family abuse and thrive in the aftermath. Loving someone doesn’t always mean having a relationship with them, just like forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation. Reconciling, in many cases, only sets people up for more abuse. A significant part of healing comes with accepting that this is a part of life; there are some relationships that are so poisonous that they destroy one’s ability to be healthy and function best.

By the age of 13, vulnerable Sheffield teenager Samantha Owens had fallen through the cracks in the care system. Bounced around numerous foster carers after her home life became too chaotic, Samantha thought she had found a friend in the streetwise Amanda Spencer. The older girl bought her clothes, styled her hair and found her places to stay. Samantha's welfare was the last thing on Spencer's mind, however, as in reality she was grooming the young girl for exploitation of the worst possible kind.

In Operation KidSafe, former detective and specialist child interviewer Kristi McVee shares her "must-have" tips, advice, and lessons acquired during her career as a police officer where she interviewed adult and child victims and investigated child sexual abuse cases.

Brutal, brave, hilarious -- a full-frontal memoir about surviving the very worst that life can throw at you. Rosie Waterland has never been cool. Growing up in housing commission, Rosie was cursed with a near perfect, beautiful older sister who dressed like Mariah Carey on a Best & Less budget...

'Required reading' CATHY NEWMAN 'Inspiring and uplifting' VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE 'A rallying cry and a beacon of hope' LUCIA OSBORNE-CROWLEY If you and your family needed help, could you trust the law to be on your side? Barrister Charlotte Proudman has seen countless women let down by the very...

In her trademark gentle, supportive and reassuring style, best-selling author Sarah Ockwell-Smith shows that while we all lose it at times, everyone can become a calmer parent. Based on her many years' experience working with parents, Sarah provides research, advice and practical exercises that will set you on the path to calmer parenting that will benefit both you and your child.

The true story of Melody, aged 8, the last of five siblings to be taken from her drug dependent single mother and brought into care. When Cathy is told about Melody’s terrible childhood, she is sure she’s heard it all before. But it isn’t long before she feels there is more going on than...

In this groundbreaking guide, the prominent therapist Dr. Robin Stern shows how the Gaslight Effect works, how you can decide which relationships can be saved and which you have to walk away from—and how to gasproof your life so you'll avoid gaslighting relationship. Your husband crosses the...

When newborn baby Felix is found abandoned at a train station, the police launch a desperate search for his mum. It doesn't take long for their inquiries to lead them to Emily. While baby Felix is placed in Maggie's care, the police and Social Services try and work out why Emily, a single mum, who has gone through fertility treatment to get pregnant, has suddenly resorted to abandoning her much longed-for child. But it's only when Maggie wins her trust that Emily reveals the extent of her secret. Can Maggie help a desperate mother and her baby reunite?