Cover Image: Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

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Member Reviews

Incredibly insightful with how different types of narcissism show and their traits plus incredibly helpful practices and tips to do the inner work and work through the trauma.

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I requested this because I suspect my mother to have narcissistic tendencies and personality traits. If you feel the same and are psychologically interested, this book can help you understand a lot more about your childhood and upbringing and how it affects you in your adult life.
It can be a bit dry sometimes but it's meant to deliver information, not to entertain.

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This books is one I continue to reference that provides me with great support as I navigate such a challenging relationship. It really helped me to understand particular characteristics and behaviours, see why they occurred and helped to lessen their impact on me. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone in a similar situation.

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Adult Daughter's of Narcissistic Mothers is very useful for those who are seeking to understand the reasons behind narcissistic parental behavior and how it affects the children and adult children in those relationships. The book focuses heavily on self-reflection and seeing how past behaviors might continue to make patterns in our current lives and how to change those patterns within ourselves for a more positive future. Excellent information, especially to those who are just beginning to understand this dynamic. More detail and depth and direction, however, would have been appreciated on how to deal with these challenging parental behaviors as an adult and how to deal with siblings who may be stuck in these same patterns from childhood, or even have narcissistic traits of their own.

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I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

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If you have a narcissistic mother, or even if you think you have a narcissistic mother, this is a must read! It was very eye opening. This has not only helped validate feelings I have always had but also explained some "odd" behaviors that I have. I really feel this book helped me explore some emotions and it is a step towards helping me improve myself.

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I have read a couple of books on this topic. Life can be very confusing until you have come to this startling revelation. This book was well written and I would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Very helpful, an interesting read.

A must for daughters who could never measure up.

Read as needed, not all in go.

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Perhaps a challenging book -- be ready to manage, emotionally -- but it's also coupled with hands-on activities and prompts to get you through the challenging feelings that may arise. It's worth a read, and worth trying the exercises, but be prepared to do the work!

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This was a brilliant, eye opening account that made so much sense once I got into it. I very rarely read non-fiction, but for this I made an exception and I’m so glad I did.

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This was a hard read at times, but so rewarding for those who deal with this on a daily basis or are recovering from their childhood dealing with a narcissistic mother. There were a great many times that I felt validated knowing that others have gone through this and walked a milein my shoes.

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I requested this book to read for a loved one, who unfortunately deals with heavy narcissism in her life from multiple family members. It weighs on all of our hearts and I thought if this book could help her or even me in the process on how to deal with it or make the relationship better than I am willing to give it a try.

I've always been fascinated by how the mind works, why we "tick" essentially, and how to maneuver around people who are less than ideal to be around because of their behavior or personality. Although, I feel the narcissist term gets thrown around quite often, if you read this book, you will understand what a true narcissist is and how they interact with others, particularly their daughters.


This book will make you feel validated and I feel as a daughter of a narcissist, you will quickly be able to relate to this book and the stories it provides. There's various practices, such as journaling and breathing exercises, to help cope with issues that a narcissist mother brings along and I felt the author was very compassionate about breaking everything down and making you aware of the two different types of narcissism and their various methods of expressing it. There were many "ah-ha" moments for me and it's helpful for me to read more about something in a situation that I often times feel helpless in.

I would have loved to have known more about why narcissistic mothers have the terrible relationships with their daughters versus their sons, but I'm assuming it stems from their insecurities and comparing themselves to their daughters.

Overall, I thought this was a great stepping stone for someone who is struggling with this particular type of person in their life and I've already ordered the book and had it sent to the loved one I had in mind when I first read the book.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

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This was a really helpful book, especially while dealing with my own mother’s narcissistic tendencies. I was shocked at how much of it was relatable.

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What anyone who has a narcissistic mother needs to read. I felt validated and so much was explained.

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Thank you to NetGalley + New Harbinger Publications for an early copy of this ebook!

This is a book I have so deeply needed, and I am glad that others struggling with their relationship with their mother will have access to this. The author does an excellent job of providing textual information as it relates to narcissism as well as intervention strategies and coping skills that the reader can use to manage their thoughts and feelings.

Because it is so heavy in the topic of narcissistic mothers and unhealthy maternal relationships, it may be difficult to read in large chunks. Taking it slowly and diving into the suggested journal entries and prompts can definitely help the reader better understand their own emotions and behaviors.

I definitely will be purchasing a physical copy of this book for my therapeutic library, and I already know I will have most of it highlighted and annotated to reference.

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Very informative book with lots of great advice. Took me awhile to get through because it was very triggering for me.I definitely recommend taking it slow with this book, but it can help

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Enjoyed this book, though can't really say it's one to be enjoyed as it tackles such a difficult and traumatic topic. I came to the realization I am an adult daughter of a narcissistic mother myself a little while before reading this one, so throughout, it felt a lot like an awakening coupled with lots of moments where I was nodding because, finally, I was finding my 'lived experience' regarding my mother and my relationship with her in these descriptions.
That being said, I would say this book is more an eye-opener than much else. Bear with me - it does explain what a narcissistic mother is, how these women's daughters grow up and the adults these girls become, but I didn't find it very helpful otherwise.
There's a lot of 'exercise' moments in there where you are encouraged and even prompted to journal. Some of these are real eye-openers, because they do make you pause and think. But I also felt these could be hurtful and even harmful at times, because there is no framework really guiding you to deal with the trauma that can and probably will arise from diving so deep into what we (adult daughters of narcissistic mothers) know inherently but often refuse to face as it will be akin to ripping off a band-aid time and time again, with no hope of healing. (Sometimes, without support like a therapist or counsellor available, such trauma recollection can be overwhelming and can lead to terrible outcomes as the person feels alone and upset and as if they're left with no recourse)
Which then brings me to - how do you move on, embody that better self you uncover from these exercises? Because there is no real way forward explained or even mentioned in this. What do we actually do about our mothers? Set boundaries (as there's a chapter on that) - but how? Don't you think we know this - that if we could do this, we'd already have done it?
This is the part where I felt this book is a let-down, because it's all good and empowering to put a name to the behaviour and even the abuse, but what next? How do we get to what's next?
So all in all, this is a good book to open someone's eyes to what a narcissistic mother is and what the life of her adult daughter looks like, but for the actual 'work through it and come out' part, it did feel like this didn't really tackle that part well.

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This was a tough read. It made me sad, made me feel at peace and everything in between. I would suggest not reading this until you’re ready because it is some tough love.

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An easy to read book, choke full of helpful examples, which feels like a complete therapy course! There are suggestions in each chapter of how to deal with situations and emotions, and everything is explained in detail. A helpful book which I recommend, which gave me many other resources to look up for further reading.

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Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book it was very informative and felt helpful in my own journey!

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