Customer Reviews

The Mother I Carry: A Memoir of Healing from Emotional Abuse

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once again Louise's articulation has captured my feelings and put them into words. Her insights into growing up with a mother who isn't on your side are painful but healing to hear. I see a pattern between these self loathing mothers and their connection to being the victims of incest long buried but still festering. I loved seeing her progression as she healed and calmed the voices of her past and present. Both of her books have changed my life in a positive and empowering way.

The Mother I Carry reads very well! Louise Wisechild is a gifted story teller, in her poignant autobiography of surviving incredible emotional abuse at the hands of her chronically narcissistic mother.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand how our childhood relationships affect our adult life; the emotionally crippling "messages" we receive as children of abusers; how these messages are internalized; what we try to do to counterbalance them [survive]; and how effectively a creative child can be in the face of overwhelming abuse; and how and what we can do to heal our wounded selves so we can function with conscious awareness and true connection in our adult world.

Louise uses the concept of "inner selves" to illustrate how under the incredible stress of emotional [and sexual...see her other book "the Obsidian Mirror, written before this one] abuse, strong emotions [especially conflicting ones] have to be compartmentalized, into smaller individual "packages" in order for a child to survive the belief that death is the only alternative.

This is a wonderful affirmation for pluralized individuals anywhere on the continuum between differentiation and dissociation, be it full MPD/DID or Mid -continuum [DDNOS]. There is no debate over integration/non; in fact no mention of MPD/DID, just pure and total acceptance of her method of dealing with the abuse she suffered, and the restructuring of her responses to triggers, in order to move forward in a healthy happy life.

Read and re-read...any one who cares about maintaining interaction with the world in which they currently live will benefit from this book.

When you grow up thinking youre the only one who had a crazy abusive mother who made you take care of them, you are very grateful for authors like this one. Fascinating book with some good insight.

Louise Wisechild is a perfect name for this author. She has been through so much, and yet manages to live her everyday life with aplomb. This book was hard for me to read because it hits so close to home. It helped me see options I have as far as dealing with my family and also ways I can self-manage the pain i was feeling. Her first book, The Obsidian Mirror, focused more on her therapy and her childhood physical abuse. This second book focuses on the emotional abuse heaped upon her by a mother who refused to acknowledge what was happening. I consider this book a must-read for anyone who has issues with their family members who did not actively participate in the abuse

The book was a little hard for me to follow, I had to read and re-read to understand. It took my a while to finish the book, but when I did, I was left with a feeling of validation. I thought I was the only person who had such a emotionally abusive mother and it was very cripling. After reading this book, I found out why I have had so many problems in my life and have began therapy. I saw so much of myself in this book and so much of my mother. This is a great book for anyone who feels alone in their emotions. It is well worth the time it took me to read the book. I would recommend this book for anyone who has ever been abused by someone they loved so much.

I think maybe "recovery" takes on different forms for everyone and it was interesting to read about Louise's life and lifestyle today. This book is very helpful to those who know their parents should never have been parents, and in breaking the generational cycle. Louise's writing style is very bold and holds nothing back, it comes across as having all the honesty and truth she clearly values. For writing this book, Louise should be extremely proud.

After reading "The Obsidian Mirror", I wanted to read anything Wisechild had written. Her writing style is very descriptive and painfully honest. "The Mother I Carry" again proved that Wisechild was a ray of hope and light in a dark world that surrounded her.

Just a reminder that this is not a guide or self-help book. It is a personal journey through hell written by a strong survivor of CSA. I suggest you first read "The Obsidian Mirror" to better understand "The Mother I Carry".

Wisechild rates #1 as my favorite author, her writing is very straight foward and brutally honest. So, if you "trigger" easy this book is not for you.