Narcissistic Abuse

A Therapist's Guide to Identifying, Escaping, and Healing from Toxic and Manipulative People

By: Vanessa M. Reiser

Narrated by: Vanessa M. Reiser

Licensed therapist and narcissism expert Vanessa M. Reiser offers a guide to identifying narcissistic abuse, especially in interpersonal relationships, sharing practical strategies for healing.

Gaslighting. Love bombing. Hoovering. Triangulating. These are all insidious weapons in the narcissist’s toolkit. Narcissism can be hard to diagnose, but it is one of the hallmarks of abusive relationships. As a therapist specializing in narcissism and domestic abuse, Vanessa M. Reiser has strategies to help victims to identify, understand, and heal from abusive relationships. With a blend of information, education, and stories, Reiser defines what narcissistic abuse is, breaks down how it’s a form of domestic violence and how narcissists think and operate, uncovering their mindset and motivations, so readers can spot a narcissist more accurately, avoid toxic relationships, escape dangerous situations, and heal from mental, emotional and/or physical trauma. Readers will learn how to:

• Identify dangerous behaviors and warning signs of narcissistic abuse
• Create an exit strategy to safely escape from an abuser
• Heal from the psychological damage and trauma.

Explaining narcissistic personality disorder, clarifying common misconceptions about narcissism, and detailing how narcissism works on a spectrum of benign to malignant, Narcissistic Abuse gives readers a clear picture of what narcissistic abuse entails, using specific situations and examples to show how narcissistic traits translate into real-life behaviors. Reiser describes the five stages of narcissistic abuse (luring, love bombing, mask slipping, discarding, and the smear campaign) and lists common stages and emotions that come after the relationship with a narcissist has been severed (including devastation, confusion, sadness, anger, understanding, and healing). With practical tools and a warm, empathetic tone, Narcissistic Abuse provides a clear path for readers to break the cycle and find a path back to themselves.

Critic reviews

"This book covers everything from the phases of narcissistic abuse to ways to break the trauma bond and heal. Vanessa provides education on how to disallow victim blaming and the differences between shame and guilt. Her approach is evidence based, clinical and integrated with a no-nonsense approach. All survivors need to feel empowered and most importantly heard.”

—Gretchen Carlson, Journalist, Co-Founder Lift Our Voices, Female Empowerment Advocate and Best-Selling Author

Such a Powerful Book

Vanessa's book is such an important exploration of the psychology that makes up a narcissist's personality.

Very predictable human behavior

This is great if you're going through a smear campaign. Fascinating how predictable, and easily manipulated people are in groups/individually.

Found this book on Google Play Samples - YouTube.

Her strength and truth

I loved her honesty and commitment to empowerment. Everyone should read this book now and share with others

So helpful

This book helped me understand and heal from a manipulative and toxic person. The way that the categories Vanessa explained exactly mirrored my experience was so helpful.

The BEST book I’ve read by far on Narcissism!

Doing deep dives into this psychological disorder, trying to understand the insidious effects of a “covert” Narcissist, lead me to read many books on the topic. Most books have given advice, character traits and confirmed the “crazy.making behavior”, However, Vanessa Reiss’ ability to break down the overarching abuse type (and its many sub components) using her own experiences; identifiable examples; and scientific explanations as to how you find yourself in one of these relationships, was refreshing, freeing and confirming. I recommend this book to anyone who not only wants to gain understanding on a superficial level, but one who wants deep rooted connections and explanations that will educate you on identifying, recovering, and never being a victim again.