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Sickened
384 pages
A chilling, claustrophobic memoir of surviving the unthinkable betrayal of a mother's care, ending in a triumphant reclamation of self.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like sitting in a sterile, cold examination room, enveloped in a suffocating sense of dread. The narrative builds a deeply claustrophobic atmosphere, trapping the reader in the disorienting reality of a child whose world is warped by the very person meant to protect her. The tone is unflinching and harrowing, meticulously detailing the psychological manipulation and physical toll of medical abuse. Yet, as the story progresses, the heavy, tense mood slowly gives way to a profound sense of relief and resilience. It is a steady, gripping journey through the darkest corners of a caregiver's betrayal, ultimately rewarding the reader with a powerful arc of escape and the vibrant reclamation of a stolen identity.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- dread-soaked
- sterile
- tense
- Tone
- unflinching
- harrowing
- reflective
- courageous
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- surviving childhood trauma · caregiver betrayal · medical abuse · reclaiming identity
- The writing
- Stark and visceral, grounding the reader in the cold reality of examination rooms and the psychological weight of a mother's manipulation.
- The arc
- Moves from the suffocating helplessness of childhood medical abuse to the hard-won triumph of escaping and rebuilding a healthy identity.
- Who it's for
- Readers drawn to intense, deeply personal memoirs about surviving severe psychological trauma and emerging resilient.
Content notes
- child abuse
- medical trauma
- psychological manipulation
- Munchausen by proxy
About the book
The massive Top Ten bestseller - now in paperbackA young girl is perched on the cold chrome of yet another doctor's examining table, missing yet another day of school. Just twelve, she's tall, skinny, and weak. It's four o'clock, and she hasn't been allowed to eat anything all day. Her mother, on the other hand, seems curiously excited. She's about to suggest open-heart surgery on her child to 'get to the bottom of this.' She checks her teeth for lipstick and, as the doctor enters, shoots the girl a warning glance. This child will not ruin her plans. From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated, and operated on-in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother's mind. Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) is the world's most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse, but Julie Gregory not only survived, she escaped the powerful orbit of her mother's madness and rebuilt her identity as a vibrant, healthy young woman.
Description from Open Library.
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