
Adult Children of Borderline Parents
A Trauma-Informed Guide to Recover from a Toxic Childhood and Discover a Healthy Sense of Self
New Harbinger Publications (Publisher)
Published on 29. May 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-64848-453-7 (ISBN)
Description
Heal the hidden wounds of growing up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), develop a healthy sense of self, and reclaim your full potential.
Did you grow up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), or you suspect they did? Was your parent's behavior unpredictable or scary? Did it seem like they were angry one minute and happy the next? Were your basic needs ignored? If so, it wasn't your fault. Children raised by a parent with BPD are subjected to a number of unhealthy and damaging behaviors-from uncontrolled anger and abuse, to gaslighting, blame-shifting, lying, and more. As a result of these experiences, you may have developed feelings of guilt, insecurity, and depression that have lingered throughout your adult life.
This compassionate guide offers a trauma-informed approach to help you recover from your toxic childhood and discover the person you were truly meant to be. You'll learn how to identify emotional and developmental wounds, and discover why interactions with your parents were so harmful to your sense of self. Then, you'll learn to create strong interpersonal boundaries and overcome feelings of guilt, anger, and low self-worth. Finally, through the act of emotional reprocessing, you'll reclaim those aspects of yourself that were lost or distorted by your trauma, so you can restart healthy growth processes and become the person you were meant to be.
If you're carrying the hidden wounds of a toxic childhood, you're not alone-and you can heal. With this practical and powerful guide, you can finally understand what happened, build a healthy sense of self, and reach your full potential.
Did you grow up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), or you suspect they did? Was your parent's behavior unpredictable or scary? Did it seem like they were angry one minute and happy the next? Were your basic needs ignored? If so, it wasn't your fault. Children raised by a parent with BPD are subjected to a number of unhealthy and damaging behaviors-from uncontrolled anger and abuse, to gaslighting, blame-shifting, lying, and more. As a result of these experiences, you may have developed feelings of guilt, insecurity, and depression that have lingered throughout your adult life.
This compassionate guide offers a trauma-informed approach to help you recover from your toxic childhood and discover the person you were truly meant to be. You'll learn how to identify emotional and developmental wounds, and discover why interactions with your parents were so harmful to your sense of self. Then, you'll learn to create strong interpersonal boundaries and overcome feelings of guilt, anger, and low self-worth. Finally, through the act of emotional reprocessing, you'll reclaim those aspects of yourself that were lost or distorted by your trauma, so you can restart healthy growth processes and become the person you were meant to be.
If you're carrying the hidden wounds of a toxic childhood, you're not alone-and you can heal. With this practical and powerful guide, you can finally understand what happened, build a healthy sense of self, and reach your full potential.
Reviews / Votes
Dan shares decades of knowledge, and explains the most complex relationships of all, with skill and ease. The reader who has spent years trying to make sense of the most complex dyad of all, the borderline personality disorder (BPD) parent-adult child relationship, will not only find themselves in the pages but relate and identify with the outstanding lived-experience examples. This is a book that you will return to time and time again. * Fiona Yassin, psychotherapist, founder of The Wave Clinic, and specialist in adolescent and family BPD * Once again, Lobel offers hope and clarity to people navigating life within a bewildering and painful borderline system. Lobel's newest book brings his expertise and empathy into the reader's hands, opening a doorway to a healthier path forward. A must-read how-to guide for clinicians and clients alike. * Tracey Masella, LCW, clinical director of the Krasner Adolescent Institute * This book cleared up confusion about my relationship behavior that caused me pain for decades. The author's tone is warm and supportive, yet clear in pointing out hard truths I couldn't grasp until I saw them spelled out. Many of us with childhood trauma yearn for someone who understands. The author does. He'll show you how to heal and move on to freedom. Read this book-it will quickly improve your life. * Kristen Mancinelli, MS, RD, author, and public health educator *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oakland, CA
United States
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
257 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64848-453-7 (9781648484537)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Daniel S. Lobel, PhD, practices clinical psychology in Katonah, NY. He is author of two books: When Your Daughter Has BPD and When Your Mother Has Borderline Personality Disorder, and numerous blogs on Psychology Today. He has taught at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, State University of New York, Hofstra School of Law, and lectures with the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI).Randi Kreger is coauthor of Stop Walking on Eggshells, and author or coauthor of three other books: The Stop Walking on Eggshells Workbook, The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder, and Stop Walking on Eggshells for Parents. Kreger is owner and moderator of the Moving Forward family support group, which can be accessed at her website: www.stopwalkingoneggshells.com. She has given presentations throughout the United States and in Japan. She also has a one-on-one coaching practice which can be accessed through her website.