Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing From the Battle Scars of Youth

I think this book nails it. The emotional pain of dealing with this is not pleasant, can be depressing and stressful. I found the author explained behaviours and where they originated which gave me a chance to say "aha", so that is where my views came from. I see the process as identifying the script that has been imposed upon by your parents which does not need to be or maybe is not relevant to your life. My father always had view and opinions which were plainly wrong. My father hates my personal, positive, optimistic and caring perspectives but the evidence is my good life. Yes, some parents do not have what it takes. Mine were evil but they suffered. You may have emotional bagage but your parents have that as well as the extra knowledge they were lousy parents as well. These people know at heart but they are slaves to their past childhoods and did not deal with it. We can and the effort has to be genuine. Success is achievable. I am doing it. Looking back much of my childhood at home was silly. Parents with empty boring lives ruining everything and still miserable, resentful, bitter and sad. You cannot laugh it off, revenge fantasies do not work.I think many readers should consider that many parents are envious and jealous of their children. They got stuck in the past and they were puppets of their circumstances. They made decisions that were wrong and they regret it but will not take responsibility for them. The author is far kinder and avoids judgement or discussing parent types. He is more focussed on the destructive feelings we inherit and how they show in our behaviour. Underlying the whole book is the idea that we have to rewrite our own scripts by identifying the somewhat shady one that our parents gave us and caused so much grief. Basically is is about taking control of your life by erasing the parents scrip to some extent and fully implementing your own despite the shame and guilt you suffer. Parents do not change, you do not get a sorry so walk away and see them less. Your parents did not manage this process. Just think about what goes on in the minds of lousy parents. They know at heart but they are often toomignorant, scared or nasty to deal with it.This is a fantastic book. Better than reading about what rotten parents are like. Focus on the process. Get going NOW!

Every page that I turn to in this book has something important to tell me. The author writes in clear, understandable, and concise wording. He was able to put answers to so many of my questions into words that ring true. I especially love how he describes why the healing process, painful as it may be, is worth it. I gave a copy to a friend and bought a second one for myself. This book is very easy to read, and it is not bogged down in heavy wording. Recommended highly.

Not only has this book helped me to better understand how I've gotten to where I am, it's helping me to get to where I'd like to be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with confidence issues and can't seem to figure out why.

James Krehbiel's book about the shame and judgments from childhood that we carry into adulthood is a must-read. No one comes through childhood unscathed. Even the best of homes and families subtly communicate "shoulds" and "oughts" about roles and behavior that can interfere with an adult's ability to be autonomous, successful and happy. Krehbiel's book offers many ways to identify how and where you as an individual carry the shame and guilt of childhood into your adult life. He offers tips such as finding a good counselor, being a good parent, understanding mistrust, and identifying characteristics of shame in adults, just to name a few. He also gives ideas for using journaling to log your personal experiences and suggests meditation as a way to generate peace and calm.I especially appreciated his discussion of forgiveness: he says it isn't simply "cheap grace" based on spirituality, but instead must bring true relief, healing, and most important, closure. When you can put the injury behind you forgiveness has truly occurred. The book is filled with gems such as this one. Mental health professionals will want to encourage patients to purchase this valuable book and refer to it as they progress through therapy, coaching, and counseling.Ellen M. Diana, Ph.D. Psychologist and Author of the Charge Up Your Life series of books: CHARGE Up Your Life: Conquer the 6 Barriers to Love, Happiness and Success CHARGE Up Your Life Workbook: Over 100 tools to explore and discover the real you Charge Up Your Life Journal: Guided Daily Writings

Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life is the perfect book for anyone suffering from an abusive or dysfunctional childhood. As someone who has read dozens of these sorts of books, I can say with out reservation that this is well written, and easy read, but filled with insights. Complex issues are explained. Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life is not just a good book, it is practical. Each section ends with a READER TIPS section. After you have read it, and some issue comes up, you may recall there was something in this book that you'd like to retrieve. The READER TIPS will often be a perfect place to zero in on the needed information. I personally like a book that has sentences so filled with meaning and so pithy that they make good quotes. In Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life I found dozens of singles sentences that I want to preserve. If you have a troubled childhood, or if you have someone in your life who suffers from a troubled childhood, this is a powerful tool. It gives insight to helpers, and it is like a guiding light to those wounded by their past. I recommend this book.