The term “gaslighting” became a part of the language after the 1944 film Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. In the movie, a man marries a wealthy older woman and then leaves her at home alone in the evenings, where she hears noises and see the gas lights outside flicker on and off. When she tells him about her experiences, he tells her that she is imagining it all, making her feel crazy, so that he can acquire her wealth and leave her. The end of the movie (spoiler alert) shows that he had created everything she had heard and seen, before “coming back home” to tell his wife that she’s crazy. That concept of manipulation, of being told that your experience is not accurate, is infuriating. It is crazy making. It is painful. And it can be difficult to learn how to trust your own experiences again after it happens to you.

To recover from this type of emotional abuse, it takes work. You need a commitment to yourself, maybe a good therapist, an inspiring notebook or journal, and The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook. This compassionate workbook is a gentle guide to understanding and healing from being in a relationship with a gaslighter. Whether it’s a friendship, a romantic relationship, a boss or coworker, or a family member who is causing the pain, this workbook has exercises that can help you.

Author Amy Marlow-MaCoy is a professional counselor who has worked with those needing this type of healing, and she understands how challenging it can be. She knows how this sort of abuse erodes a person’s self-esteem, friendships, boundaries, and trust. Moving step by step through self-compassion and healing to self-care and establishing healthy relationships, Marlow-MaCoy uses thoughtful questions and writing exercises to help you stop internalizing the lies of the gaslighter, learn assertive communication, understand boundary guilt with bingo, learn to say no, and protect yourself from the flying monkeys.

If you have been in this type of relationship, or you suspect you might be, then read The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook and know for certain. Know what to look for, and learn how to protect yourself. Heal the trauma that this emotional abuse causes, learn how to put yourself first, and set boundaries against those who want to manipulate you. In other words, The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook can help you get your life back.

A copy of The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook was provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.