Bettyrose Woody knew that her mother wasn’t like other mothers, that her behavior was not normal. As a child, she didn’t have a name for what was going on. She just silently suffered through her mother’s unpredictable punishments and rages. Narcissist, personality disorder, sexual abuse survivor.
Years later, Bettyrose would discover the words she spent her childhood looking for: narcissistic personality disorder.
Now, NPD is a recognized mental illness in the psychiatric community. That wasn’t always the case. There was little support for those traumatized by narcissists. Young Bettyrose never had a way of understanding her mother’s actions or how she could behave so inhumanely toward her own children. The ramifications of this childhood abuse would echo throughout her life.
KIRKUS REVIEW
Woody, in her debut memoir, tells of being raised by a cruel mother and making peace with her chaotic past.
By the time she was 3, the author writes, she “had built a protective shell around myself to shut life out.…I conditioned myself to never express emotion or react to anything, good or bad.” She did this, she says, to deny her abusive mother the gratification of seeing the fear she instilled in her children. This ability also enabled the author to move forward in her adult life despite terrible trauma. Her mother, she says, beat and verbally abused her and her seven siblings, once saying to the author, “You were meant to live a hell on earth, and that’s my job, to make sure you do.” At one point, Woody recalls a series of chilling incidents during a hot July day in Cincinnati in the late 1960s, when she was 11. She left her home, where her mother was raging at her sister Janie, and walked down the street, where she ran into an older teenage boy who offered her a ride to her father’s house (her parents were separated). Instead, the boy brought her to his own parents’ house, where he raped her; later that night, she says, she was raped again, by a different man. The following year, she recalls, her mother had her placed in the Alton State Mental Hospital in Illinois, where she remained for two years, until she ran away. Over the course of this book, Woody’s narrative is revealed in scattered bits and pieces, often switching between the past and the present. Her evaluations of her mother, including that she “suffered from narcissistic personality disorder,” start to feel repetitious. At times, this rambling account feels as if the author is mainly trying to achieve personal catharsis by setting her experiences down on the page. However, readers will also find an indomitable spirit at the heart of this story as well as an impressive capacity to offer unqualified love to others.
A painful, sad, and disturbing story of survival with an unexpected final touch of forgiveness.
Wow! Hard to get through, but worth the read. This book is so horrific that I had to actually stop reading and take a break to catch my breath more than once. 'A Mother's Love' tells the story of a young girl and how her life was a roller-coaster ride from hell having to live with her mentally ill mother. Jackie Greer suffered from narcissistic personality disorder. which is explained in parts throughout the book. The ordeals this child, Bettyrose, had to go through are unimaginable. I was shocked! I cried! And, I cheered! I admired the strength and guts that Bettyrose held onto, swearing to never let her mother see her cry or break. At such a young age, she was determined and it may have helped save her life.
Although the book is well written, one line in the novel jumped out at me and that was this..."Those glimpses of love to me were like drops of water to a dying soul trying to cross the Sahara." Very profound, and I am so pleased that Bettyrose grew up to adopt a young son and had someone that she could shower with all the love that she had in her heart.
'A Mother's Love' is a gripping, raw look into a cruel mental disorder and the chaos that those who are close (family/friends) to the person suffer through. I admire the courage it must have taken for Bettyrose Woody to put pen to paper and to have to recall all these awful memories to give us this wonderful book. Thank you for your effort. I most definitely recommend this short read.
Reviewed by Amy Campbell
12/17/2018
A Mother's Love is not an easy book to read. Especially, for me personally, as I could relate with the author. There were some pages, I could have swore they were written about me. I found the author's words comforting. Mostly, the letter she had written at the end of the book. Powerful! Thank you, Miss Bettyrose, for sharing your story. You are inspiring for those of us who can relate.
Four and a half stars.
I received this book from the author. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
Reviewed by Debby Deshan
11/29/2018
This book blew me completely away. Wow! Just wow! Where do I even begin... The torture was so terrible. I felt so very sorry for Bettyrose in this vivid emotional memoir. This book gave me all the feels . Several times I just wanted to cry my eyes out. Who speaks that way to their child and make them feel as if they are nothing. Who tells their child that they are retarded. As much as I was so angry at the mistreatment that Bettyrose was handed I also had to know where it stemmed from. This book isn’t for the faint of heart in my opinion . It pulls on a lot of heartstrings. Totally needed for anyone dealing with PTSD as well as NPD and also other mentall illnesses. I loved how she forgave her mother and saw the illness in her recognizing that it took complete control of her. Very well written. And I look forward to more of this authors work. 5 stars indeed!
Reviewed by Laura H.
7/23/2018
Being easy to read does not make the subject matter easy to digest. This is truly an unforgettable publication.
From the haunting and forlorn picture on the cover to the last word of this book, the reader is taken on a journey that is incredibly sad but a brave and revealing glimpse into the topsy-turvy life of one family. This is not a fluffy feel-good publication but one of honesty, untold suffering, and evil personified.
The first paragraph's chilling description of an abuser left this reader in tears. The sentence on Page 5 'He could kill himself and bring me down with him, but God forbid he should look bad in front of the neighbors." sent chills down my spine. This could describe anyone because the charm the outside sees disappears immediately once the door closes.
This book is quite possibly one of the easiest to read about an abusive childhood and the insidious events in one little girl's life. The author has opened up about her life and heartache letting the reader feel the pain, agony, and despair, she felt.
The writing of this book must have been excruciating for the author and the publishing team.
The format the author used flowed in such a way as to keep the reader's interest. With the backstory of Bettyrose's grandmother, the reader understands the complete control Jackie Greer had over the people who entered her insane world. Also the inclusion of only a few specific events and the upheaval they caused--lends the book a realm into the reality of the level of sinister people in any community.
The way the author wrapped her life of abuse into a life of strength and love is nothing short of miraculous. While the journey is heartbreaking, the outcome is stuff movies are made of.
Bettyrose's description of Alton State Mental Hospital is beyond depressing and sickening--it is just plain disturbing on so many levels. To think of a child in such a place is overwhelming and leaves a person with a feeling of hopelessness at the enormity of what horrors happen in such sites.
And all the adults that should have protected this little girl...
This book is very well written and should be included in a college level syllabus.
Reviewed by Brittany Dalton
5/19/2018
I really like this book it was a quick read can't wait to read more by this author. Talking about your past can open may thing too.
Reviewed by April Hannum
5/9/2018
I received a copy of this book through Author's Den and from the author to complete a voluntary review.
From the moment I began reading this book, I was enthralled with Bettyrose's story. The book captures her life from many different moments and spans from her adult life to childhood and back again, as the author narrates her harrowing life story in search of acceptance and love.
Terrible truths about her mother and the abuse she endured from a small age, breaks your heart as you read the words from the page, but feel the emotions of how she could only ever feel as she was not worthy of love or feelings of apathy. Her mother treated her as a vile being that disgusted her just by existing. It’s such a traumatic experience that is unfathomable in most minds of how a child would be treated and stunted from love and relationships that grow their character. Unfortunately, I’ve known several similar instances that adults and far too many children have experienced situations similar to Bettyrose’s, which even include my Grandmother and Mother. I feel so much for Bettyrose and consider her so brave and courageous to share her story to aid herself and others in healing and pursuing healthy relationships and understanding the story behind the people who treat us horribly. Sometimes that story can be more involved than meets the eye.
Please look for a full review on coffeecupsandcandor.wordpress.com. Thank you Bettyrose for the advanced copy and for sharing your story.
AuthorsDen: I've read A Mother's Love, and I applaud the author for
bearing her soul in this book. As I believe it brought some closure to the abuse by the hands of her mother and others.
You have given a voice and hope to those who shared the same fate.
Betty rose Woody’s gutsy memoir is written from her hurting heart and soul. Her story details the ravaging consequences of her childhood experience of being not only unloved, neglected, unguided, and despised, but also emotionally tortured as a child and adult. The author’s narcissistic mother never acknowledged loving her. What could be more painful and unbearable? Yet, the author keeps surviving and is now thriving; she is a powerful example of surviving a harrowing childhood. I would recommend this book to anyone raised with parental abuse at the hands of a narcissistic, sociopathic, or bi-polar parent as it is a revealing eye-opener of a story! Author Woody lets us know that healing, forgiving, and creating a satisfying adult life is possible even after enduring years of extreme abuse.
Reviewed by Anjeanet Segrest
2/4/2018
This was definitely a good read. This dear lady went through horrific abuse, both from her mother, and others. She stood strong, and raised her son the best she could. Prepare yourself, this is a sad book. I wish that her mother would have found some healing.
This book was an exceptional read.
I always said everyone has a story to tell, be it good, bad, nice or nasty. Although so heartbreaking and sad to live a life seeking comfort, love, protection, and acceptance, BettyRose remained strong. She continued to move forward the best she could with all she had dealt with and continued dealing with. I commend her for being that strong-willed child and now a strong-willed woman who endured all the obstacles that were thrown in her path. Now, to be a survivor and a victor.
I found myself seeking some of those same things in life that the author sought as a child.
Clueless to Narcissistic behaviors, I could only imagine what it was like to suffer the mental, verbal and physical abuse of your own mother battling this disease. I can understand in some instances where she has been and where she is now, as we shared some similar experiences.
Opening about your past and getting it out can heal in so many ways. I’ve learned that keeping silent is never the answer, it only torments the victims. At the end BettyRose, you did the best thing offering forgivness for yourself, your mother and siblings. God Bless You.
Reviewed by Lenora Thompson
1/16/2018
Beautifully and poignantly written, A Mother's Love chronicles the survival of a loving daughter born to one of the most evil, cruel and narcissistic of mothers. Just when you think Bettyrose Woody's mother can't get any worse, she sinks to a new low, subjects her daughter to a new cruelty. Somehow, the author still finds it in her heart to forgive her mother, without denying nor glossing over any of the abuses she survived. I highly recommend this book for everyone who suffered parental narcissistic abuse, especially by their mother, and needs to compare notes, seek validation and find comfort and healing.
The true story of Cheryl Pierson Cuccio who made headlines in 1986 and her husband Rob Cuccio. Cheryl was abused sexually and physically and Rob died for 43 minutes on Cheryl's 43rd birthday.
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