This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Wow!!!

Terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. How to survive in a life when each moment is so tightly wound, when the wrong smile can cause days of sullen silence or being locked in a bathroom. When shopping trips with endless bounty are then bestowed upon you only to be thrown away later for not saying enough thank yous.

It is absolutely testament to Olivia’s strong sense of right and wrong that she finally finds her way out of all the abusive relationships that she has been in. Her mother, her partner and to some extent her father could never have imagined that this meek victim of circumstance could ever break free.

I don’t doubt that these experiences will have forever changed who Olivia is but I can only hope that this amazing woman stays strong just like Cher!!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

It feels wrong to enjoy this.
A heartbreaking harrowing tale that will stay with me.
I felt like I was with her in her world and I think it’s a great, brave book.

#MyMotherThePsychopath #NetGalley
A rollercoaster ride of emotions. Brilliant
What do you do when the person you’re meant to trust the most in the world is the one trying to destroy you? Olivia has been afraid ever since she can remember. Out of sight, she was subjected to cruelty and humiliation at the hands of the one person who should have loved and protected her at all times – her mother, Josephine. Now Olivia has come to terms with her past and gives a fascinating, harrowing and deeply unsettling insight into what it’s like growing up with a psychopathic parent.
It was an awesome rollercoaster ride of emotions. Read this amazing book to know more.
Olivia's character is awesome which makes you cry and force you to think about her.
Narration is awesome which keeps you hooked.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Ebury Publishing for giving me an advance copy of this brilliant book.
A must read.

"My Mother, the Psychopath" was a tough read because the idea that anyone could act the way described here towards their children, or anybody for that matter is unbelievable.

Apart from the mother being a psychopath, I was mostly angry at the father for doing absolutely nothing to protect his daughter.

Overall, this was a really interesting read which gave some interesting insights into the way abuse can manifest.

When children grow up, they do this in the believe that their parents know best and that they only want the best for their children. Since they hardly have any insight in other children’s homes, they forcibly must come to the conclusion that what they experience is how things in a family should be. Olivia has always known that her mother isn’t easy, they have changed home so many more times than any other kid she knows and even as a small child, she knew what to avoid and what to do around her mother for fear of her reaction. But it took her many years to understand the woman who gave birth to her and to find an explanation for her mother’s behaviour: she is a psychopath.

Olivia Rayne tells her experiences of growing up with a psychopathic mother. The chapters are dedicated to typical clinical features that a person diagnosed with this mental illness shows and a short explanation. Then, she outlines how this realised in her mother’s case. It is unbelievable to read what the girl had to endure and how she was left alone while her father watched and could clearly see what was happening. Not only did he not provide any help or shelter, he even supported his wife’s erratic behaviour. Outside the family, hardly anybody had the chance to do anything about the situation since the facade portrayed a totally different picture of the events that at times made people wonder.

The book is highly informative since you get a lot background information of how a psychopath operates. You can also recognise the patterns of manipulation they use and thus, at least I hope, get an idea of how they remain undiscovered for a long time. Yet, first and foremost, it is very moving and heart-breaking and should startle anybody who works with children to provide them with help and clear ideas of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable parental behaviour.

Absolutely brilliant! I was horrified, heartbroken and gripped by this account of growing up with a psychopathic mother. It reads like a thriller yet every word is true. Highly recommended.

This book was extremely surprising and frightening to read. I couldn't believe half of what was written and that this book wasn't fiction, Olivia actually went through this. The memoir made me angry and sad but it was compelling to hear the raw and honest truth of what Olivia had to go through and I empathised so much with her while reading it and when I finished it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review, I do apologise that it took me a while to write it.

Although harrowing and heartbreaking, this book is a book that needs to be read.

This was such a moving book, it was unbelievable what poor Olivia went through and all from the person who should love her & be protecting her. Was very interesting and heartwarming to know that Olivia made it out in the end.

Olivia and Sarah have written a powerful memoir, using an interesting structure - the symptoms of psychopathy - to detail Olivia's life subject to her abusive mother and then her escape. It's an absolutely fascinating book.

This book was very compelling and I couldn't stop reading it. If you had an abusive parent you can't help but identify strongly with everything Olivia goes through, and feel so much for her. Everyone needs to know more about identifying people who are dangerous to be around (especially victims of abuse who can easily fall into other relationships with abusers) and I can recommend this book. This book will make you so angry that children can be trapped for year after year with psychopaths because nobody will believe the child when faced with a individual who is superficially charming and flattering.

An interesting memoir by Olivia Rayne about her relationship with her mother who, Olivia realises later in life, is a psychopath.
Olivia charts her childhood, the many moves they make as a family, always at her mother’s behest, through her teenage years and into adulthood.
A true insight into living with a psychopath and one wonders why on earth such a woman would ever have a child. All credit to Olivia for writing this book and for being such a well-rounded adult, despite having such dreadful parents.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating insight into what it is like to have a relationship with someone who may have psychopathic tendencies. I really felt for Olivia and how much her mothers behaviour impacted upon her. It was nice to see her be able to 'come out the other side'. I would have been interested in understanding more about her mothers own history as it may help to understand the question are psychopaths born or made?

A terrifyingly frank and chilling account of Olivia Rayne’s childhood at the hands of her mother, this novel is both heartbreaking and fascinating.
Rayne describes the traits of a psychopath to explain her mother’s manipulative behaviour, veering from loving to abusive, often within the same conversation.
‘Maman’ controls Olivia’s submissive and cowed father too, even stopping him from seeking his dying father and trying to stop him attending the funeral.
Her mother even chooses her boyfriends, in a relationship that is so smothering and inappropriate that her mother once offers to french kiss her so she’ll know how to do it.
Shocking, sad but always raw and honest, this personal account is hard to read and understand but highly recommended.

Incredibly dark and harrowing, it's hard to imagine it's not fiction. I really wanted to read this so thank you for approving me. It's tough at times but Rayne's story deserves to be heard.

My Mother, The Psychopath by author Olivia Rayne is already a crazy heartbreaking story and I’ve only just started! I’ve been wanting to read this since last year and was thrilled to see a notification being accepted to read it on Netgalley! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to it! I intend to finish (probably tonight at this rate) and do a full length review on this! This story is dark but something that is real, and hits pretty close to home for me. What a brave author to put this in writing, I’ll update soon!

Wow, just wow. It really does go to show you don't know what goes on behind closed doors. I had to keep reminding myself that this was not fiction.

This is a really well written account of growing up with an abusive mother who also happens to be a psychopath. Although well-written, this wasn't what I expected: it was more along the lines of 'A Child Called It' - a very heart-wrenching account of an abusive childhood in the "misery lit" genre

My Mother the Psychopath: Growing Up In The Shadow of A Monster by Olivia Rayne is a true story focusing on the dynamics of an innocent girl growing up with a psychopathic mother. This is a gripping story, reading like fiction so I found myself forgetting that it was real. Remembering that made it so much more authentic and intriguing, making this a very good book which will hook you the whole way through.

The story
Olivia Rayne tells the true story of her childhood, growing up with a psychopathic mother, Josephine. It is told from Olivia as child, with anecdotes from her toddler years right through to adulthood, when Olivia finally managed to break free of her holds. Each anecdote represents another trait of psychopathy, painting the overall picture of Josephine being a full-blown, high functioning psychopath.
Why I enjoyed this book...
My Mother the Psychopath by Olivia Rayne is great because it is such a personal story and you can feel the raw emotions behind the words and actions described. Olivia is a person I feel full sympathy for, not because I can understand, but because she makes me understand what it could be like to be in a situation like this. The reality of this book could really help others who are caught in a psychopath's web, whether a family member, friend or partner and will hopefully help people to identify and avoid them generally.
Rayne's honesty about how her mother made her feel makes this book so intriguing, as she does not try and cover just how terrible psychopaths can make you feel. Her admittance of self-blame throughout the years is striking and the contrast to her personality around other people is stark. I will say that I didn't understand why she never searched the behaviour online; it surprised me because she knew her mother's behaviour was not normal but never Googled it, just brushing it off as her being crazy. I also thought that there were a couple of instances where the anecdotes blended, as they escalated, so could have been written in shorter sections. This made the novel a bit longer that it had to be.
Overall, I mostly enjoyed My Mother the Psychopath by Olivia Rayne because it is a well-written piece of non-fiction which had me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know how Olivia would escape, where she would go and who she would become without her mother and I was not disappointed. Thank you NetGalley and Ebury for my e-proof copy of My Mother the Pscyhopath by Olivia Rayne in exchange for an honest review.