The Box of Daughter: Overcoming a Legacy of Emotional Abuse is an eloquent, compassionate portrayal of the author’s triumph over a lifetime of emotional abuse. The author exposes the dark truths hidden behind a family’s façade of pious perfection – the bullying and abuse that can occur behind closed doors – and describes her journey to freedom from the lifelong effects of emotional exploitation that result from growing up in a dysfunctional family.

*From Kirkus Reviews: "Mayfield’s memoir is a testament to the merit of psychological healing through the understanding and expression of feelings and allowing the past trauma of the psyche to come to the forefront to be acknowledged. Full of stark realities of abuse but also the hopefulness of healing, Mayfield’s memoir provides helpful insight to those facing similar struggles."

“Katherine Mayfield's book is an insightful, honest, and riveting account of her childhood emotional abuse and her journey to wholeness as an adult. It demonstrates how harsh words and lack of compassion can traumatize a child just as deeply as physical or sexual abuse. Highly recommended.”
– Aletha Solter, Ph.D., founder of the Aware Parenting Institute and author of Tears and Tantrums

"Fresh, bold, and inspiring."
– Examiner.com

In an attempt to obtain the love, attention, and respect she lacked as a child, the author spent her twenties and thirties pursuing a professional acting career, appearing Off-Broadway, in independent films, and on the daytime drama Guiding Light. Entering therapy in her thirties in response to a divorce, she began to unravel the threads of dysfunction in her family of origin.

More than a decade later, armed with the truth about her family, she sought to understand the challenges her parents faced and recover from the trauma while simultaneously acting as the family caregiver for the parents who abused her.

Freed from the abuse by the deaths of her parents in 2005 and 2008, the author set foot on an inspiring journey to wholeness – developing self-esteem, uncovering her true self, and finally creating a life that is truly her own.

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Find out how to recover from emotional abuse and bullying.

How The Box of Daughter Began

Three months after my father died, I attended a bereavement group offered by an affiliate of the hospice program that cared for my father in the last months of his life. The group centered around writing and sharing short pieces related to the grief process that all of us shared, and as I discovered that others had experienced similar difficulties in their families of origins, I began writing more short pieces related to my parents' abuse.

I also found it extremely cathartic to write about my fifty years of living in the box of daughter. Putting the words and experiences on paper helped me clarify my truth and clear myself of the fear, sadness, and anger related to my past. Spilling my thoughts and feelings in whatever way they wanted to come out helped me to come to terms with the trauma of abuse in childhood and to heal my grief at what I had lost.

Within a few months, I had written so many short pieces that I began seeing them as part of a book, a record of my truth which I hoped would help others to face their own truths and begin to release their pain and sadness.

I am grateful to whatever divine force led me to write this book, and I offer it as a healing gift for others. Finally facing my truth and releasing old feelings helped me to heal myself from the past and move forward into a much more authentic, productive, and fulfilling life.

If you had a difficult childhood, a dysfunctional family of origin, or any other situation that's made you feel as if you're living in a box, read on and learn how to get out of the box. Recovery from the past is absolutely possible.

Victory Over Verbal Abuse by Patricia Evans is a new book which will guide you through the process of healing. Find out more at VerbalAbuse.com.