Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-up's Guide to Getting over Narcissistic Parents

"This is an excellent book for anyone raised by a self-centered parent!
It gives understanding and re-builds self-esteem. "
~ Written on 2008-08-09

"The book is written in simple language and therefore very accessible to those not familiar with the field of psychology. Additionally, the book is very interactive, forcing the reader to be invested in the book's content and therefore their own development. Nina Brown is knowledgeable and is able to relay her knowledge differently than most authors of psychological texts. I have read many texts on narcissism and honestly can say this is the best one in its breadth, accessibility, sophistication, and perspective.
My last comment is that, Dr. Brown is very straight forward. She introduces ideas that may be difficult to accept and investigate. As opposed to other authors in this field, she does not sympathize with the victim and the emotionally lazy. She asks that the reader take the content of the book and their own development seriously. This is ultimately helpful."
~ Written on 2008-07-24

"What is it about all these books being written about how parents were sooooo bad? Why does society expect parents to be perfect? Guess what? NO parent is perfect, because no human being is perfect. Yes, the Baby Boomer generation (which no doubt this books mostly talks about) was more self-absorbed than other generations, but not necessarily because of being narcissictic, but rather because of having problems of their own that could not be overcome.

But if those under 30, have the need to feel better about themselves by bashing those who raise them, then go ahead. But let's have books published giving parents equal time. I know of many parents who have done the best they could, but you would never know it by the way some children do turn out, and contrary to popular belief, it isn't always the parents' fault."
~ Written on 2008-06-17

"This book is written about my mother to a tee. It is reasurring that it is a personality disorder because I thought it was me that is crazy. I'm not crazy, but have been dealing with a NPD for my entire life and now that I realize the person I am dealing with. This will help me cope and strategize when she is near me. I now know to set my boundries to stay alive and well. Thank you. I would recommend this book to anyone that is dealing with a malignant narcissistic parent."
~ Written on 2008-06-01

" Upon reading some of the reviews written here, I am glad to see that this book was helpful to many. Dr. Brown is dealing with an incredibly complex subject, and tries to cover much ground in 200 pages. However,in going through it, I was struck not only by the author's ambitiousness in trying to define, clarify, sort out and enumerate the vast number of concepts, psychological terms and suggestions tangent to the issue of narcissism, but how confusing this must all be to the reader. Many ambiguous, generalized, inaccurate terms and definitions are thrown into this stew, stated here in an attempt to simplify the subject matter. However,it leaves a great deal of room for misconception.
If well-organized, this material easily could have been a few different books, along with a workbook. But, more disconcerting is the meandering assortment of topics thrown in with no apparent logic. It is way too much inaccurate information trying to pass itself off as "psychologically"correct and helpful, but in reality is a hodge-podge. The "dumbing down"of the concept of narcissism and its malignant effects upon
the child-parent relationship, just further contribute to what Susan Jacoby aptly describes as "the Un-Minding of America". Perhaps Ms. Brown might stick to simpler
issues and leave the tough ones for professionals more adept at accurate, well-developed psychological formulations for the layman to absorb.
"
~ Written on 2008-05-22