Overcoming Self-Abandonment

A Guide for Women Who Are Done Being Everything but Themselves

By: Avery Hoenig PhD, Lucy Smith PhD, Jamie Wilson PhD

Narrated by: Sara Van Beckum

You’ve been everything to everyone.

You hustle, overdeliver, say yes when you mean no, and carry the emotional weight of everyone around you. You’ve spent your whole life perfecting your expected roles—daughter, wife, friend, employee, mother—all while silencing your own desires and losing yourself in what other people want. You tell yourself you’re fine. You’re strong. You’ll rest later. But the truth is, you’re exhausted.

You’re done—and you’re not alone.

Psychologists Avery Hoenig, Lucy Smith, and Jamie Wilson don’t just see this phenomenon in the therapy room, they have experienced it in their own lives. Now, they are on a mission to help all women untangle from self-abandonment. To free themselves from the societal expectations that have taught and encouraged them to focus on outside opinions rather than internal wisdom. To reconnect to the version of themselves that knows best and is ready to be heard and seen.

Filled with compassion, powerful stories, and concrete change strategies, Overcoming Self-Abandonment will help you recognize the patterns that are draining you and give you tools to reclaim your time, energy, and identity. This is not about becoming someone else. It’s about finally becoming you. If you’re done disappearing from your own life, this book is your permission slip to take up space and make your way back to yourself.

©2026 Avery Hoenig, Lucy Smith, and Jamie Wilson (P)2026 Dreamscape Media

Helpful and actionable

The book introduces the concept of self abandonment with practical examples that the reader can identify with. Followed by practical advice on how to “tune in” to yourself and understand what you really want and need.