Psychopath and Narcissist Survivors Support Group

Over the past few weeks I hav read about twenty books on narcissism /emotional abuse etc.

The best one for me was Stalking the Soul: Emotional Abuse and the Erosion of Identity by Marie-France Hirigoyen.

It is BRILLIANT

This book is My Guardian, My Witness, My Protector.

I picked up a highlighter pen and started highlighting things in it that described my own nightmare situation. By the end of the book, I had highlighted, not just whole pages but whole CHAPTERS of it.

It ought to be required reading (and they should be able to demonstrate an understanding of it) for ANYONE involved with the consequences of emotional abuse: doctors, lawyers, police, refuge workers, counsellors, etc., even friends and family of the broken people like me who have been targeted by the inhuman robots who try to destroy us.

Many months before I read this book, when my tormentor was still cruelly abusing me, I told him that I felt like he was trying to murder my soul. That is EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO.

After being so unsure as to whether people really believed me when I finally admitted what he had put me through for years, this book has validated me. It has virtually SAVED my life, not just changed it.

I agree it's good but been too long since I read it. Your mentioning it reminded me that I have it here at home ... so thanks for that.

Jobie

Thanks for the recommendation, have added the following link.

http://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Soul-Emo ... 1885586531

by Marie-France Hirigoyen (Author), Helen Marx (Author), Thomas Moore (Author)

From Publishers Weekly
Claiming that emotionally abusive relationships are widespread in marriages, families and the workplace, French psychotherapist Hirigoyen illuminates the subtle, insidious relationship that "emotional abusers" and their "victims" evolve. While recognizing that the "clean violence" of an emotional abuserAwho as a "natural manipulator" often attracts others with a dynamic, winning styleAis hard to prove, she aims to enable those who are being abused to recognize what's going on and get help, and to alert her fellow therapists to the danger signs. Often, emotional abuse builds over a long period of time until it becomes so unbearable that victims lash out in frustration and anger, only to appear unstable and aggressive themselves. This, according to Hirigoyen, is the intent of many abusers: to systematically "destabilize" and confuse their victims (with irrational, threatening behavior that preys on the victim's fears and self-doubts), to isolate and control them and ultimately to destroy their identity. These relentless "predators" are also incapable of compassion or empathy, always blame the victim and never see their actions as wrong. Already a bestseller in France, this clearly written and compassionate book offers sensible advice (get support and leave the relationship if the abuse is personal; take legal action if it is professional), though it may not be easy to execute in every case. A smooth translation, combined with a foreword by Thomas Moore and a jacket blurb from Alice Miller, should help this book find a niche readership of thoughtful self-help readers and therapists. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This was an incredible book for me; it had a lot to do with changing my perspectives on having felt like I was "weak" and to blame, etc. It also positively impacted my outlook, as I realized that what I had begun to suspect was my insanity was actually a deliberate gaslighting, and I wasn't nuts at all. Well, maybe just a wee bit. :) The book talks about the abuser, but specifically analyzes their tactics and goals in a very thorough, probing way. I wouldn't say it saved my life by itself, but in combination with other things, yes, absolutely it did.

Anyway, can't say enough for this book; it is excellent! To me it even tops The Sociopath Next Door (by Martha Stout; a very good book) and is on par with Hare's Without Conscience.

Thanks for this. Im going to order it, it sounds great.