I finished the true story of what a Narcissistic mother is capable of. If You Tell by Gregg Olsen is the true story about a truly evil mother- Shelly Knotek who is about to be released from prison in 2022. This is a hard book to read and not for children.
The thing is I went through some of the same type of childhood trauma. Possessions taken away when I cam home from school, furniture removed forever, clothing taken away, moving often, locked outside for hours, controlled every minute of the day. I thought it was something I had done wrong, but this book sheds light on the madness of some mothers. Worth a read if you want to understand why some adult children are estranged from their parents. The part about the mother being very good at finding things and being a different person at work was very close home.
One time we moved to another state and when the movers unloaded everything, I had nothing. No furniture, no clothes, no toys, everything was missing from my new room, no a single box of my possessions. My mother said she gave it all away to a poor family right before the move. Really? I thought we were poor. I had to start a new school soon and had no clothes. My younger brother had all his stuff. I ended up wearing his clothes and dumpster diving for the rest. And even though I was 5 years older than he was I could fit his clothes. I was very undernourished as a child, though I was called fat by my parents. And my father was too busy to care. I wondered why so many people tried to give me food when I was growing up. I guess they saw what I did not. I discovered how undernourished I was when a dentist studied my teeth. He showed me the signs in my teeth and x-rays. The body does not lie while my folks did.
This is a very disturbing true book and shows the horrors some children go through. Growing up with lies, threats, mind games, constant stress and fear.
