Missing: Coming to Terms with a Borderline Mother

by Kathy Ewing

Kathy Ewing knows what it's like to be raised by someone variously sullen, pleasant, angry, demanding, manipulative, engaging, and all the rest-sometimes changing from one mood to the next in a single conversation. In this personal memoir she writes of her memories from my childhood, in rough chronology, showing her mother's troubling behavior -the behavior that mystified her until she found a name for it, until she could put it in the context of Borderline Personality Disorder. The memoir shows how the diagnosis, the wrestling with her history, and the very writing of it have provided some comfort, if not healing.

Genres: Memoir

150 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2016

About the author

Kathy Ewing was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. She has written on topics including education, books, women’s issues, and dogs, for such publications as Belt, The Bark, The Book Group Book, The Plain Dealer, Great Lakes Review, and Growing without Schooling. She has taught at all levels, from nursery school to college, and currently teaches Latin at Cleveland State University and writing at Case Western Reserve University. She has two grown children and lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband John Ewing. She blogs at www.kathyewing.com.

Reviews

[Courtney Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very helpful in my journey. I saw much of my life in the book. I felt seen and heard and that brought me much peace. The last 2 pages were my favorite.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know much about borderline personality disorder before reading this book, but Kathy Ewing provides a good bit of information alongside the narrative of her growing up with a borderline mother. Her memories are heartwrenching, and convey how long it takes for children to realize that not all parents are like their parents--and what that means. I suspect that much of this book would be painful but very recognizable reading for other children of borderline parents, but the author also describes how she has gradually come to terms with her family experience. An interesting, useful, and short read for those who share Ewing's experience and those who don't.

[Karen Leith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy writes a very readable book with not only her struggles but enough information minus jargon to understand borderline personality disorder. Painful experiences that allow others in similar circumstances to start own path to healing. A short read for everyone who needs to understand how family dynamics sheds light on adult behavior.

[Laura Weldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author combines her experiences with research into borderline personality disorder, resulting in a memoir that's not only stirring but helpful to those of us trying to understand --- as she does ---- our relationship with a person suffering from BPD.