Join Erin and her guests, as they delve into what it means to be a child of a narcissistic parent. Each fortnightly episode is crammed full of honesty, humour and hope.

Coming home, after an annual visit to my birth family, USED to be an exercise in healing and rebuilding. My husband and a handful of friends (those in the know) would reach for the mop and bucket, along with the glue. Each year they would willingly mop up all of my tears and help me gather the broken pieces of my heart, patiently supporting me as I put myself back together.

But, the most recent homecoming, around one month ago, was different. Although it was the second time that I had visited the USA without seeing my birth family, this return became an epiphany moment for me. It’s as if - when those plane wheels touched down on the runway - my heart cracked wide open and I could see just how much gratitude I was holding inside.

Since then, I have been sitting in that gratitude. I no longer sit in a puddle of tears and a pile of broken pieces. Long may it last!

Let’s just say (or shout!), “I threw the mop away!”

Join Erin and her guests, as they delve into what it means to be a child of a narcissistic parent. Each fortnightly episode is crammed full of honesty, humour and hope.

One lesson I learned…very early on…was that Life doesn’t stop just because you have some figuring out to do. Being raised by narcissists can be compared to living with grief. Life doesn’t stop for that either.

Whether living with narcissists or living with grief, you never get over it, it’s not a competition with others experiencing it, there are no rewards for surviving it and no two experiences are the same.

But, what if you are sailing several ships through several shit storms at the same time? You can only sail one ship at a time, right? Well, that may be true on open waters! I can’t say the same for dealing with multiple narcissistic parents.

Fortunately, for younger generations, there is a global community, terminology, definitions and loads of information. No one needs to sail alone anymore…even those of us sailing several ships simultaneously…in shark infested waters.

That gives me such hope!

Join Erin and her guests, as they delve into what it means to be a child of a narcissistic parent. Each fortnightly episode is crammed full of honesty, humour and hope.

As a child raised by narcissists, it is far too easy to remember the difficult stuff. There are good times. There are happy memories. But…connecting that happiness to those who inflicted so much pain can be very confusing for the mind and heart!

Why should I credit any of my narcissistic parents with my happiness? Gratitude feels wrong and uncomfortable. I mean…imagine praising your kidnapper. Wrong!

I can’t deny the happiness, but it can make the hurt sting even more. It isn’t surprising to say that love looks strange when offered by a narcissistic parent. The love is conditional…so any happiness is tarnished with any or all of those conditions.

There was happiness. I can’t erase that.

But, was it genuine? Was I really happy?