Trapped in the Mirror
Author: Elan Golomb
List Price: $13.95
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ISBN: 0688140718
Publisher: Quill (28 March, 1995)
Sales Rank: 5,958
Average Customer Rating: 3.47 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 3 out of 5
Mixed bag
As a child of narcissistic parents, I found myself and my experience time and again on the pages of this book. While I wasn't impressed by Golomb's writing style, I was excited and amazed every time I picked up the book to learn the reasons for many of my reactions and responses in life. I found her descriptions of the effects of narcissism on children to be much more interesting than the individual case histories. Best of all, just reading about the effects of narcissism helped me conquer some situational fears that had been plaguing me for a long time. Seeing the pathology of having had narcissistic parents described in this book empowered me! I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Overall good
The first couple of chapters of this book are truly breathtaking, especially if you are a child of narcissists and didn't yet know that the particular type of abuse you suffered had a name. A friend of mine recommended this book to me a year ago, with the promise that it would "change my life." It has not disappointed. However, I felt the book rattled on a bit and got too autobiographical towards the end. In fact, there was something almost--dare I say--narcissistic about how often the author would remind the reader of how important it was to her personally to be writing this book. An immensely helpful book, but readers would be better advised to use the book as a complement to therapy, rather than a substitute for it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Very helpful and validating
I thoroughly enjoyed reading E. Golombs book being the daughter of a narcissist mother and father. I have read almost every writing and book on Narcissism that amazon and the web have to offer and I was never bored of Golombs insights which were many. I would put this book in my top 2. There were good examples and short stories of concepts and traits typical of children of N's. I related to her experiences whether it was traveling through Asia, or her frightening stay in a hospital against her will. This was the book my therapist recommended. It was real, to the point, and gives constructive helpful information in the last chapter to help those children of N's overcome their destructive parenting. I especially liked chapter 10 "The child of a narcissist becomes a narcissist" "Alan". There were many examples of children of Narcissists with varying personalities and lifestyles. Unfortunately there is no validation from the author if you have chosen to leave your relationship from a destructive abusive parent. If you are looking for this you won't find it in her book. Similar Products
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Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting over Narcissistic Parents
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