Shadow Daughter: A Memoir of Estrangement

This book resonated with every cell in my body. If you have never experienced or considered family estrangement, much of what the author has to say may be difficult to understand. The research Brown has done, along with other studies she cites throughout the book, is enlightening and comforting to those of us who come from families dealing with estrangement.

Brown shares the story of her own estrangement from her mother with honesty and grace. I can only imagine how painful yet cathartic it was for her to complete this book. Her personal anecdotes are woven with research and interviews, which come together to create a heart wrenching story, as well as an excellent resource for others.

I will return to this book again and again for strategies on handling family trauma, as well as reassurance that my family and I are not alone in our pain.

Thank you immensely to the author.

I bought this about a year ago when I first started to purposefully estrange from my narcissistic mother. At first I had a VERY hard time reading this. I’d get through a half chapter, start to cry and have to put it down for a week. I’m now fully non-contact with my mother for at least 10 months and successfully finished this book (finally) as I went through therapy and the death of my 3 childhood dogs.

This book helped me SO MUCH with being able to process my choices and moving on with my own life. Highly recommend for anyone going through a situation where you need to remove yourself from a toxic relationship with a parent. It is comforting and eye opening and also hard to read sometimes… but that’s ok! It gets better.

A bittersweet memoir that hits home in our house. Sometimes, the best counseling you can find comes in the form of a book, and this is such a book. Harriet is an award winning journalist, yes, but more to the point, shes a fine writer and a daughter who has felt, thought long and hard on, researched, and finally poured it all out in this lovely book. As wed all like to believe, in the end, theres hope, and sometimes, thats all we can ask for.

This book was written for anyone who has experienced the initiating of estrangement from a family member. The author went through this herself and she is completely credible and articulate. The book addresses the stigma and guilt associated with estrangement and explores the different reasons why adult children make the difficult choice to sever ties with a parent or other family member. I found the book to be very comforting and validating, and it made me realize that I am not alone in what I went through with my mother. I HIGHLY recommend “Shadow Daughter” to anyone who is running the gamut of emotions while trying to deal with this issue.

Harriet Brown certainly did her research, with so many source notes. Written as not only her personal story, but as a research project into estrangement, this book validates a subject that is simply not discussed: Adult children choosing to estrange themselves from their parents.
So much is written about reconciliation, but what if maintaining estrangement is better for the mental health of the adult child? We hear all the time about removing toxic people from our lives; why does that never include our own mother or father? Is it truly “Honor thy Parents” at all costs?
She dives deep into the world of estrangement, even honestly answering the questions surrounding her own mother’s death, with all the people who make sure she knows she’ll regret it, by saying that no, she only regrets that she didn’t do it sooner.
So do I.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member