She Was Never Enough: One woman's story of awakening and healing from emotional abuse.

by Rachel Adams

Never fast enough, never smart enough, never pretty enough—just never enough. I was conditioned from a young age to firmly believe that I would never be enough of anything to attain the unconditional love I craved so deeply from my bipolar, narcissistic mother and the safety and protection I craved from my loving but terrified father. I would grow up to be a strong-willed, highly accomplished woman who hated and hid from the world. What good are fancy houses, lots of money, and a great job if you are small, tired, miserable, and slowly dying inside?

My life truly started the day I woke up and realized that the emotional abuse of my childhood had distorted the lens through which I see myself and the world around me. In this book I share with you my beautiful, painful, and sometimes humorous journey to healing. Whether it’s boiled peas, sledgehammers, or therapists, I share all my tools for healing and the lessons learned from my first awakening.

81 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2021

About the author

Rachel Adams is a writer and Professor of English and American Studies at Columbia University. She is the author of numerous academic articles and book reviews, as well as two books: Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination and Continental Divides: Remapping the Cultures of North America (both published by the University of Chicago Press). Her writing has also appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Times of London. Her book, Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery, will be published by Yale University Press in September. She lives in New York City.

Source: About Rachel Adams.