Absolutely heartbreaking. I struggled to finish because it hurt my heart so badly. I appreciate the author's willingness to be vulnerable in sharing her story. Thank you.

This was a fascinating memoir about Helen's life as the child of a person suffering from Munchausens, and while her recounting of her past was shocking enough the real twist came towards the end when Helen's memories were compared to actual facts and the extent of the damage caused by her mother's illness came to light.

Wow, what can I say about this book which would possibly do it any justice. JUST READ IT. This has opened my eyes to a subject I didn’t know anything about, it is cruel, Evil and very disturbing and it is so sad. I felt sorry for Helen thought this book all the anxiety and trauma she suffered because of the abuse

This book pulled me in from Page 1! This compelling memoir details the heartbreak, anxiety, and emotional distress caused by a mother who clearly suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder, hypochondria, and Munchausen's Syndrome. The tone of this memoir is perfectly set - and you can definitely understand the tortured tone of being raised in a household with a mom who has all of these disorders (none of which are properly diagnosed or officially acknowledged). I couldn't stop reading and listening to this book and I am grateful that the author took the time and effort to put all of her experiences on paper so that she can help other family members whose relatives also have this disorder.

I’m very sorry I rarely do this but I couldn’t finish this book. I have people in my family with the same condition and I wanted to learn more about other people’s experience on it however the mother’s diaries and the abuse this girl suffered all her life made me extremely sad.

As always, many thanks for NetGalley for the ARC but this one is just not for me.

I’ve been enjoying biographies lately, so when I saw this one (based on the cover and title) I requested it. And it didn’t disappoint.

The story of Helen and Elinor was disturbing, but also emotional, this read made me feel lots of things.

A fascinating memoir about a daughter whos mother over her whole life made up illnesses to get attention. It took.the daughter a long time to realise what was happening, however once she did she couldn't get her.mum to stop, nor would the nhs listen to her concerns. It follows the pair from.her young childhood u til.the death of her mother.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

This is a tough read - it's emotional and eye opening at the same time. I do have a hard time rating memoir's because who am I to judge their life experiences? It was well written, but I do feel it was more one-sided than it needed to be. I'd love to hear more about what the mother went through during her later years in life. While I agree that a memoir is to be more one-sided, the author did come across as wanting more self-pity from her life. I think that was a given considering the situation, but would love to have more insight from others in her life on what everyone went through during this lifetime experience.

This is a very honest memoir of a dysfunctional childhood.

There is a lot going on for Helen. Her mother is ill and stays in bed all day. Helen spends a lot of time at home on her own. Even at the age of 6 she is spending time home from school on her own.

But her mother is not as ill as she seems. She has ME a new disease which is difficult to diagnose. Then her mother Elinor develops Parkinsons. To say Elinor is more interested in her illness than Helen and her children is an understatement.

Helen's life in unimaginable but I felt this very interesting story could have done with better editing. I came away feeling that I had missed something. Her mother was never interviewed for the novel. We never really got any other side which is fine but I found that I came away having very little sympathy for either of them.

I found I struggled to finish the novel. I really felt like I was reading a teenagers essay which is a pity as it is an interesting story.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

such a difficult subject to write about. I always remember the nurse Beverley Allitt who brought this disease to my attention. Rather heavy going, but worth a read.

Hard to read at times but then Munchausen's isn’t ever going to be a fun read. Everything about Elinor and Helen is difficult and after her mothers death, everything Helen knew has been a lie.

It is clear that Helen is as devastated as she is utterly heartbroken at what she reads having discovered diaries kept by her mother for the last thirty years and those entries are difficult to read or even comprehend.

This is a book you will either not want to put down or find it too hard to read.

This book was absolutely incredible. It's not the kind of book you can honestly say that you enjoyed, given the subject matter it would be the wrong word. Helen Naylor has written this memoir talking about her life growing up with a mother who suffered from Munchausen's, although the narrative made me think that her mother rather reveled in the chaos she caused. I understand that Munchausen's is a mental illness where the person living with the illness creates fictional illnesses in order to get attention from doctors, family, friends and so forth. Seeing this play out from Helen's perspective really brought home the impact that mental illness has on the people around the person living with the illness.

I found Helen Naylor's narrative to be brave, honest and absolutely devastating in places. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

An honest account of one women's relationship with her mother. Mother's are meant to love, nurture and care for their children. But what happens when the parent resents the child and seeks to get attention by pretending to have an illness.
Helen's parents are respectable and seem to be caring to her. She is always well turned out and seemingly wants for nothing but her dad has a health problems and has to retire from his job at the bank. Her mother Elinor resents Helen as destroying her career in the bank. Her need for attention leads her to make out she has ME, and gradually Helen becomes her parent's carer, aged only 7.
Emotional abuse is so high to pinpoint. Nowadays Elinor's mother's behaviour would be called gaslighting or coercive control. Because Helen had not known any other behaviour, she believed her mother who made her believe she was a bad, ungrateful child.
A thought provoking read

I found this book really engaging. I really felt for Helen and I could feel how disconcerting everything was. Mother's are meant to love their children but that's not always the case.
I wanted to shout at Helen's Mum and at least one of her friends but it is always easier to spot things when looking from the outside.

A shocking and stunning look at illness and family relationships through the vein of an oft-misunderstood mental disorder. Fascinating!

A brutal insight in to life with a mother who has undiagnosed Munchausen’s.

The book is a hard but good read, the subject matter is so difficult and your heart breaks for all involved.

The book feels cathartic and I like that.

I found this such an interesting read, and it gives an insight into living with someone with munchausens.

It’s really interesting reading it first count and Helen writing had me at times, wanting to carry on but not wanting to read any more as it’s so hard to understand.

It’s worth a read if this genre interests you

I had read lots of biographies and am very interested in mental health. This although a very sad story was very informative. Helen is able to talk about her mother's condition, but most importantly the impact that it had on her life. I think that muschausen's and also borderline personality disorder is not often discussed, especially the way that the symptoms are shown with the individuality of the condition. Helen's experience shows how badly mental health issues are diagnosed and dealt with, and also the impact that it can have on everyone around them. I think that Helen's story is very inspirational in the way that she is able to reflect on her experience, and also how her journey is still a work in progress. I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in the topic or maybe just someone needing to hear how people can overcome traumatic experiences.

A non fiction memoir of a daughter growing up in the shadow of her mothers ailments. This looks at munchausens and the affect it had on her family.

This was a really interesting though at times hard read. It deals with a very sensitive subject and is one sided account but it reads very honestly. It was hard at times not to wonder how did no one step in or how could so many believe the lies but of course this happens more than we realise. Its a fairly dark story though at times it lacks a little depth. The diary entries were interspersed through the story but they didn't give as much insight as I would have hoped. A fascinating, real account about a dark subject.

I found this book informative and thought provoking while also intriguing enough to keep me reading to find out where Helen’s life was going. My heart broke for her repeatedly as her mother continued to make such a giant, negative impact on her life due to Munchausen’s. I did not know very much about Munchausen’s before reading this book but felt as if I gained a lot of knowledge by the conclusion of the story.

It took me longer than normal to finish this book because it was an emotional read for me. I commend Helen for being so vulnerable and sharing her past with us.