TOXIC PARENTS: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life

by Susan with Craig Buck Forward ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 1989

The author of the best-selling Men Who Hate Women and the Women Love Them (1986) now confronts those parents who poison their children's lives. As the director of a sexual-abuse clinic, Forward has seen more of life's dark side than many other psychotherapists. Her first book, Betrayal of Innocence (also cowritten with Buck), reported directly on her experience with incest and the sexual abuse of children; Men Who Hate Women. . .dealt with abusive men and women as victims. This new book upends the currently popular belief that ""we are responsible for our own lives no matter what is in the past."" If your parents abused you, says Forward, then they are responsible for hurting you; you are the victim, not the perpetrator. This is a how-to book to help such wounded psyches identify how they were abused, who was the guilty party, and how the legacy of abuse continues in adulthood. The first part of the book identifies types of hurtful parents, including alcoholics and verbal and physical abusers, but also those mothers and fathers guilty of emotional neglect, those who committed traumatically serious sins of omission in raising their children. The second part deals with how to overcome the harm done and includes some unusual suggestions, including physically confronting the parents. Forward suggests specific exercises, such as writing letters, but also warns that such work is best done when supported by a therapist or knowledgeable and understanding friends. A popularly written book, easy to read--but as Forward emphasizes, carrying out its advice is likely to be difficult and painful.

Pub Date: Aug. 15, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Bantam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1989

Categories: NONFICTION