Book Blast & Giveaway - Being Broken: Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse by Geoffrey R. Jonas

Being Broken

Tales and Essays of 

Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse

by

Geoffrey R. Jonas

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by

Goddess Fish Promotions.

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Memoir

Publisher: Tellwell Talent

Publication Date: March 7, 2025

Page count: 272 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

A young woman dies alone in a hotel room, her fentanyl-poisoned cocaine still on the desk. She had been missing for nearly 2 weeks. Social Services had been trying to find a place for her to live with her 3-year-old son, whom she had left with her parents. Six months later her father fights for his life in intensive care, but succumbs to his illness because of a lifelong use of alcohol and tobacco. A month after his death her mother is assessed by doctors to be unable to care for herself because of her Alzheimer's and mental health issues brought on by benzodiazepine and alcohol addiction.

The son, brother, stepson is the only one left to pick up the pieces. He begins a journey of the self and finds out the truth of his family. After going over letters, notes, emails, videos, and text messages, he uncovers a disturbing picture of the abuse his sister suffered at the hands of their parents. He also begins to better understand his own struggles with mental health and substance addiction because of the trauma and abuse he also suffered from their parents.

Follow the son as he looks through his family history to discover the generational abuse that trickled down through the years. Learn about how parents who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder emotionally abuse and manipulate their children. See how the abuse and trauma becomes mental illness in the abused, and how they fall into vicious traps of addiction, eating disorders, self-harm, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Witness the transformational change of the son as he works on the recovery of his inner child and tries to become the man he was meant to be.

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Prologue

Defining Narcissistic Parental Abuse

Normal Narcissism vs. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

To understand the tragedy’s conclusion, we must define the patterns of learned behaviours and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) that caused it. To do that, we first need to discuss what NPD is and how it differs from normal or healthy narcissism (NN).

Many of us have heard the tale of Narcissus from Greek mythology. Narcissus starved to death because he fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water and refused to leave it. This results from pathological narcissism or NPD. If he had just checked his reflection like we all typically do in the morning and moved on with his day, that would be healthy narcissism. We are all guilty of a bit of healthy narcissism, especially in these days of social media. Healthy narcissism can generate positive self-image and self-esteem, but can lead to bragging or even demeaning others. The key difference here is that someone with NN will recognize that what they have said or done has hurt others, can feel empathy, and will try to correct the situation.

For someone with NPD, the lack of empathy for others is a key criterion for diagnosis. Sufferers of NPD need what is called ‘narcissistic supply’, meaning the emotional reaction from others, whether negative or positive, to fill the gaping hole of low self-esteem most of them have. They require constant reassurance and admiration from others and can become hostile and angry, even rageful, if we do not meet their needs. They will use any means necessary to get their supply, even lying and being aggressive or demeaning towards others.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Geoffrey is a first-time author. He lives peacefully by a lake, spending his time writing, painting, gardening, and woodworking. His recovery is ongoing, and he enjoys his privacy and seclusion.

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Blurb Blitz & Giveaway: Mamacadabra by Carrie Monroe O'Keefe

Mamacadabra

Poof! You're a Mom Now!

by

Carrie Monroe O'Keefe

Memoir

Publisher: Mamacadabra Press

Publication Date: November 28, 2023

Page count: 200 pages

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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SYNOPSIS:

Starting her third year of marriage, Carrie Monroe O’Keefe had already been on the roller coaster of extreme highs and lows of a newly blended family. Thinking she could do a better job of navigating marriage, stepmotherhood, working full time, and all of the things, she embarked on a year of “what if.”

Settling into her role as wife and mom, she tried to find ways to do things better, see things differently, and reframe her thinking to create a better home for her family and to feel more at home herself. With humor, unwavering honesty, vulnerability, and sarcasm, Carrie finds her way through the year and to her true self.

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From Chapter: This House is Not a Home (Currently)

It’s a bright Saturday morning and I’m looking around my kitchen wondering when, exactly, I let it get THIS bad. The dishwasher has been run, but nobody has bothered to unload it, resulting in piles of dirty dishes in and around the sink. There are empty cereal boxes lined up, I assume, so I can cut out the Box Tops for Education labels…because I’m the only one who can what…use scissors? Break down the boxes for recycling? Throw away the empty bag inside the boxes that once held cereal?

Speaking of recycling, there’s a bag of recycling on a stool waiting to be taken out on our “next trip” out of the house. It’s been there for three days and we have, in fact, left the house several times in those three days.

The clincher, though, is the kitchen table. Our puppy has a best friend that lives next door. He comes over to our back deck door and barks for Sullivan to come out to play. They wrestle, run around, investigate, bark at each other, bark at passersby, lay down to rest, and then start over. When they’re out and I’m working or writing, I bring my laptop up to the kitchen table so I can check on the dogs from time to time.

At this very moment, I’m sitting at my kitchen table and surrounding my laptop are:

•One little girl’s black shoe.

•One little girl’s gold shoe.

•One little girl’s pink slipper.

•The Nancy Drew book we’re currently reading.

•Large bag of colored pencils.

•Pair of my husband’s dirty socks.

•Empty napkin holder on its side.

•The art project brought home by my littlest little girl.

•Pad of paper with my work notes scribbled on it.

•Three place mats (one was a casualty of yesterday’s juice fiasco).

•One black marker.

•Work documents of my husband’s.

•A partially completed drawing.

My kitchen table isn’t even big! How, or perhaps a better question is WHY, is there so much sh*t sitting on it?!! And does anybody else find it a teensy bit disconcerting that there are two shoes, a slipper, and dirty socks on the table at which we EAT OUR MEALS? Anyone???

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carrie Monroe O’Keefe started blogging about her life by sharing stories of marriage, stepmotherhood, and how to navigate it all on mamacadabra.com in 2012. People said they loved reading the posts, so she kept writing. In addition to blogging, she released her middle-grade fiction book, The Whole Truth, in 2019.

Carrie lives outside of Minneapolis with her husband, two daughters, and dog Finlay.

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Pop-Up Blog-Hop & Giveaway: "So Sorry for Your Loss" by Dina Gachman

 

“SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS”

by

Dina Gachman

Grief & Bereavement / Love & Loss / Parenting & Relationships

Publisher: Union Square & Co.

Page Count: 240 pages

Publication Date: April 11, 2023

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A heartfelt exploration about what it means to process grief, by a bestselling author and journalist whose experience with two devastating losses inspired her to bring comfort and understanding to others.

Since losing her mother to cancer in 2018 and her sister to alcoholism less than three years later, author and journalist Dina Gachman has dedicated herself to understanding what it means to grieve, healing after loss, and the ways we stay connected to those we miss. Through a mix of personal storytelling, reporting, and insight from experts and even moments of humor, Gachman gives readers a fresh take on grief and bereavement—whether the loss is a family member, beloved pet, or a romantic relationship. No one wants to join the grief club, since membership comes with zero perks, but So Sorry for Your Loss will make that initiation just a little less painful.

In the spirit of Elizabeth Kubler Ross books like On Grief and Grieving, or C.S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed, So Sorry for Your Loss is the perfect gift for someone who is grieving. With her blend of personal experiences, expert advice, and just a little bit of humor, Gachman has provided a compassionate and compelling resource for anyone looking for grief books.

PRAISE FOR SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS:

Gachman perceptively puts words to the uncomfortable realities of loss…and deconstructs its social myths, helping readers feel less alone. Those facing loss will find solace here.” —Publishers Weekly

“So Sorry for Your Loss is a monument to the work of remembering and a testament to the immutable love of family and the grief that forever changes us.” —Lauren Hough, New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing

“So Sorry for Your Loss is a meditation on loss that reminds us how to go on living.” —Deirdre Fagan, author of Find a Place for Me and The Grief Eaters

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Interview with Dina Gachman 

 You’re a Texan; how has being a Texan influenced your writing?

As a journalist, I love telling stories set in Texas and about the culture and people in the state. With the book, I guess my Texas roots come through in my point of view, and in the lessons I was raised with like “kill ‘em with kindness” or “don’t be a hateful Hannah,” which both found their way into the book. Do people say “don’t be a hateful Hannah” outside the state? I have no idea, but I know my mom and grandmother said it, and now it’s in my book.

Where did your love of books and writing come from?

I don’t remember a time that I didn’t love books, writing, and just letting my imagination run wild. I’ve never wanted to be anything but a writer, except for a brief period when I wanted to be an archeologist—but that was because of a book I read in fifth grade called Motel of the Mysteries, where the main character is a bumbling amateur archeologist. My parents, and especially my mom, nurtured my love of books and writing. They introduced me to my two favorite books of all time when I was in high school—my mom gave me Toni Morrison’s Beloved and my dad urged me to read Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. Both of those books will forever be dear to me. I had never read anything as unique and piercing as Beloved, and I had never fallen in love with characters like McMurtry’s. I cried reading the last page of both those books, mainly because I was so devastated that the experience of reading them for the first time was coming to an end.

What kinds of writing do you do?

Besides writing my own books I do a lot of ghostwriting with celebrities, so that gives me freedom to write stories I care about and pitch ideas to magazines that I’m excited about. The ghostwriting is almost like my base salary, and then I can spend the rest of my time finding interesting stories to tell. I spent so many years waiting tables, writing blog posts for lamp stores, and copyediting tech news to make money, and it took a very long time to get to a place where I could actually say I’m a full-time writer. I hope I never take that for granted. I write for publications I love, like Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, the New York Times, and Teen Vogue, and I get to discover interesting subcultures, like women who race lawn mowers, or profile people like a “yucca whisperer” in West Texas. I love it. As a freelance journalist, you have to be constantly curious, and Texas has an endless supply of people and places to become curious about. 

What does your writing spot look like?

I have an office at home with a big, beautiful wood desk that my husband made for me in the garage. On the desk I have a lamp that my mom gave me years ago, with a letter that said she hoped I would write beautiful things under that lamplight, so how could I ever part with such a gift? Next to the lamp I have a framed photo of my sister Jackie. My mom and sister are gone, but those two things on my desk make me feel like they’re close. The office is full of books and photos and flowers that I love, and I face a big window that looks outside at some rose bushes and a big yucca. If my dog is getting too needy, I’ll leave my desk and sit on the couch and write so he can snuggle with me. Both spots are pretty magical.

Dina Gachman is a Pulitzer Center Grantee and a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Vox, Texas Monthly, and more. She’s a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter and the author of Brokenomics: 50 Ways to Live the Dream on a Dime. She lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband and son. Photo credit Jessica Comiskey.

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Three winners each receive a signed copy of

So Sorry for Your Loss

(US only; ends midnight, CST, 5/12/23)

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