Healing from childhood neglect can be a transformative journey, and the right books can offer invaluable insights, practical advice, and emotional support. Whether you're seeking understanding, tools for self-care, or ways to build healthier relationships, many books address the trauma of childhood neglect and provide guidance for healing. Here are some of the best books on this topic:
1. Disconnecting to Survive by Pamela Fuller
This book provides up-to-date guidance on how to recognize and reduce trauma-based dissociation. Through a therapist-guided approach, readers will increase their awareness of their own experiences of dissociation and develop strategies for reducing these responses, with an overall goal of feeling more connected within themselves and with others
2. Running on Empty by Jonice Webb, PhD with Christine Musello, PsyD
A practicing psychologist for more than twenty years, Jonice Webb has successfully treated numerous patients who come to her believing that something is missing inside them. While many self-help books deal with what happened to you as a child, in Running on Empty, Webb addresses the things that may not have happened for you. What goes unsaid―or what cannot be remembered―can have profound consequences that may be affecting you to this day.
3. Black Women and Narcissists by Nya Love
Sadly, black women are known to have a double-whammy under oppression. Their abuse has been ignored as well as denied altogether until the 21st century. Therefore, navigating abuse can be extremely difficult when the system and society partly abandon you. This book helps carve a path to valuing yourself and heal from narcissistic abuse as a black woman.
4. Neglect: The Silent Abuser. How to Recognize and Heal from Childhood Neglect by Enod Gray
“If you have experienced neglect, it is likely that you have learned to shut down your feelings in order to survive. Your psyche has very wisely developed a mechanism to allow you to function on the outside, even though something may be very wrong and well hidden inside. Through distracting yourself with staying busy or obsessing about things on the outside, you may not even be aware of the pain you carry on the inside.”
― Enod Gray, Neglect-The Silent Abuser: How to Recognize and Heal from Childhood Neglect.
5. Reparenting Your Wounded Inner Child: Explore Childhood and Generational Trauma to Break Destructive Patterns, Build Emotional Strength, and Achieve ... 7 Empowering Steps (Heal, Grow, & Thrive)
6. Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma by Pete Walker
From his website below... Pete Walker MA, MFT, has various articles and resources on how to manage PTSD and how to regain your footing on effective trauma recovery.
7. When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection by Glabor Maté, MD
8. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
The book explores trauma treatment methods, including mindfulness, neurofeedback, and yoga, that can help heal the body and mind.It's an essential read for understanding how neglect can shape behavior and how to work towards recovery.
9. Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Nakazawa’s writing bridges the gap between emotional and physical health, making this a must-read for those who want to understand how early neglect can affect the body and mind. The book offers scientific insights as well as strategies for healing.This book explores the link between early childhood adversity, including neglect, and its impact on physical health later in life. It delves into how emotional neglect can disrupt a child’s biological development and contribute to various health issues in adulthood.
10. Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Susan Forward
This book explores the impact of toxic parenting, which often includes neglect. Susan Forward identifies the emotional and psychological scars left by neglectful parents and offers strategies for breaking free from these patterns. Those who have had difficult or neglectful relationships with their caregivers and are trying to reclaim their sense of self will learn how to recognize the signs of toxic behavior in parents, how to heal from their effects, and how to build healthier relationships moving forward.
11. Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families" by Charles L. Whitfield
In this book, frontline physician and therapist Charles Whitfield describes the process of wounding that the Child Within (True Self) experiences and shows how to differentiate the True Self from the false self. He also describes the core issues of recovery and more. Other writings on this topic have come and gone, while Healing the Child Within has remained a strong introduction to recognizing and healing from the painful effects of childhood trauma. Highly recommended by therapists and survivors of trauma.
12. Mothers Who Can't Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters by Susan Forward PhD with Donna Frazier Glynn
With Mothers Who Can't Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters, Susan Forward, Ph.D., author of the smash #1 bestseller Toxic Parents, offers a powerful look at the devastating impact unloving mothers have on their daughters—and provides clear, effective techniques for overcoming that painful legacy.
13. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook: Heal the Hidden Wounds from Childhood Affecting Your Adult Mental and Physical Health by Glenn R. Schiraldi, PhD.
In this innovative workbook, trauma specialist Glenn Schiraldi presents practical, evidence-based skills to help you heal from ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). In addition to dealing with the symptoms, you’ll learn to address the root cause of your suffering, change the way your brain responds to stress and the outside world, and soothe troubling memories.
14. Healing Your Wounded Inner Child: A CBT Workbook to Overcome Past Trauma, Face Abandonment and Regain Emotional Stability. (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) by Maria Clarke
If You Have a Lot of Unresolved Trauma From Your Childhood, Then Let This Workbook Be Your Guide on the path to Recovery - It’s Time to Heal Your Wounded Inner Child With CBT Techniques!
15. Hope: Live a Life of Freedom: A little girl’s healing journey from dysfunction into Freedom by Antoinette De Barr
In Hope: Live a Life of Freedom, Antoinette reveals the hidden wounds of a child scarred by neglect and abuse and the cost of carrying that trauma into adulthood. With searing honesty and compassion, she shares her raw, personal journey of confronting the darkness within, offering readers a lifeline to do the same.
Healing from childhood neglect is a complex and deeply personal journey. These books offer various perspectives, ranging from understanding the psychological impact to providing practical strategies for healing. While reading these books can be transformative, the healing process often benefits from professional support, whether through therapy, support groups, or holistic practices as well. With the right resources and a commitment to self-care, healing from a traumatic childhood is possible.
What books had a great impact on understanding your childhood?
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