Toxic Parents - Susan Forward

Who are toxic parents?
The Inadequate Parents: Constantly focusing on their own problems, they turn their children into “mini-adults” who take care of them.
The Controllers: They use guilt, manipulation, and even overhelpfulness to direct their children’s lives.
The Alcoholics: Mired in denial and chaotic mood swings, their addiction leaves little time or energy for the demands of
parenthood.
The Verbal Abusers: Whether overtly abusive or subtly sarcastic, they demoralize their children with constant put-downs and rob them of their self-confidence.
The Physical Abusers: Incapable of controlling their own deep-seated rage, they often blame their children for their own ungovernable behavior.
The Sexual Abusers: Whether flagrantly sexual or covertly seductive, they are the ultimate betrayers, destroying the very heart of childhood—its innocence.
YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AS A CHILD—BUT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW!




PART 1. TOXIC PARENTS 1. Godlike Parents
—The Myth of the Perfect Parent
2. “Just Because You Didn’t Mean It Doesn’t Mean It Didn’t Hurt” —The Inadequate Parents
3. “Why Can’t They Let Me Live My Own Life?” —The Controllers
4. “No One in This Family Is an Alcoholic” —The Alcoholics
5. The Bruises Are All on the Inside —The Verbal Abusers
6. Sometimes the Bruises Are on the Outside, Too —The Physical Abusers
7. The Ultimate Betrayal —The Sexual Abusers
8. Why Do Parents Behave This Way? —The Family System
PART 2. RECLAIMING YOUR LIFE
9. You Don’t Have to Forgive
10. “I’m a Grown-up. Why Don’t I Feel Like One?”
11. The Beginnings of Self-Definition
12. Who’s Really Responsible?
13. Confrontation: The Road to Independence
14. Healing the Incest Wound
15. Breaking the Cycle
Epilogue—Letting Go of the Struggle
Suggested Reading
Excerpt from Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them