I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has found themselves in dispear after after relationships with manipulative characters. I gave it 5 stars because it was the first book I read on the subject. It has massively educated and helped me - leading me down a path of many more books, educating experiences and eye-openers both internally and externally. Therefore I am very grateful for this book (which took me 2 years to complete) having been a sort of guide in giving me hope when I needed it. It takes guts to admit you've been conned and it takes guts to face toxic fear and shame and resolve it. I did, at times, notice that the stages and thresholds Miller mentions closely correlate with her own experiences and that did sometimes bother me because a book on psychology should be written more factually rather than like a memoire. However, now having completed it, I realize that the sheer fact that she shared her personal story in such a detailed manner is brave and should be applauded because (I believe) many people can relate to the stories much more personally than dry theory. Overall, an amazing first glance into NPD, sociopathy/psychopathy, trauma and it's resolution, PTSD, etc. .. very worth it :)