Daughters of Madness

"This is the most thoughtful, well-researched, and deeply moving book I have ever read on the effect upon daughters of mentally ill mothers. Susan Nathiel has an uncommon understanding of children's pre-verbal mental development and the degree to which a mother's emotional absence, unpredictability, or frightening behavior can permanently shape a daughter's world view. Written with extraordinary]gracefulness and balance, Daughters of Madness will be of immeasurable comfort to families of the mentally ill, and should be required reading for every student of psychology, general medicine, and law." -- Victoria Secunda, author, When Madness Comes Home and When You And Your Mother Can't Be Friends "This book will do an immense service for families with mentally ill parents. Beautifully organized and framed by Nathiel's compassionate analysis and guidance for change, these compelling stories of daughters whose childhood sense of self was disrupted by the mental illness of their mothers make it clear how mental illness is a family disease. The daughters' struggles are moving, painful and yet ultimately hopeful. This book will go a long way toward changing our attitudes toward mental illness in women with children." -- Joan Hedrick, Author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life, Charles P. Dana Professor of History, Trinity College

Tells the stories of adults who grew up as children of mentally ill mothers, whom the author calls "the daughters of madness". Each chapter of this title covers a major developmental period for the daughter of a mentally ill mother - and then explains how these daughters faced and coped with mental illness in their mothers.June was 9 years old when she came home from school and her schizophrenic mother met her at the door, angrily demanding to know, Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house? Tess's mother would wait outside church, then scream at family friends as they emerged, accusing them of spying and plotting to kill her. Five-year-old Tess and her 7-year-old brother would cry and beg their mother to take them home as onlookers stared. These are just two of the stories among dozens gathered for this book. The children, now adults, grew up with mentally ill mothers at a time when mental illness was even more stigmatizing than it is today. They are what Nathiel calls the daughters of madness, and their young lives were lived on shaky ground. Telling someone that there's mental illness in her family, and watching the reaction is not for the faint-hearted, the therapist says, quoting another's research. Nathiel adds, Telling them it is your mother who's mentally ill certainly ups the ante. A veteran therapist with 35 years experience, Nathiel takes us into this traumatic world—each of her chanpters covering a major developmental period for the daughter of a mentally ill mother—and then explains how these now-adult daughters faced and coped with their mothers' illness. While the stories of these daughters are central to the book, Nathiel also offers her professional insights into exactly how maternal impairment affects infants, children, and adolescents. Women, significantly more than men, are often diagnosed with serious mental illness after they become parents. So what effect does a mentally ill mother have on a growing child, teenager or adult daughter, who looks to her not only for the deepest and most abiding love, but also a sense of what the world is all about? Nathiel also makes accessible the latest research on interpersonal neurobiology, attachment, and the way a child's brain and mind develop in the contest of that relationship.