Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grownup's Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents

"Parentified children" have never had a childhood. Instead, they've had to look after immature, self-absorbed parents who never grew up themselves. A child with this kind of parent is given great gifts: highly developed self-awareness, empathy and a strong sense of responsibility. But the cost is that parentified children often end up as over-compliant servants to others' needs, or defensive rebels who withdraw at the first sign of need. This book helps readers sort out what happened to them, and build a healthy new set of protective coping strategies.