Product Description

From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated and operated on, in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother's mind. This title tells the story of how she survived Munchausen By Proxy (MBP), a form of child abuse forced on her by her mother's madness.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9096 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
Julie Gregory's heartbreaking memoir tells the painfully honest story of a little girl whose life was torn apart by the condition known as Munchausen by Proxy. Sufferers invent or induce illness in their children in order to gain attention for themselves. Julie's mother feeds her child tablets which make her ill; demands the insertion of a tube into her child's urethra when she is unable to provide a urine specimen and is so insistent that Julie has a serious heart condition, that when surgery involving the insertion of wires into her heart fails to show any cause for concern, she flies at the medical staff, demanding they perform open heart surgery. The years of suffering and abuse slowly drag by, and Julie gradually turns from a bewildered little girl, unable to understand why her loving mother should treat her like this, to an angry young woman, determined to break away from the isolated farmhouse where she suffers unspeakable humiliations at the hands of both her parents. But escape is not easy in a world where a child's cry for help is construed as malicious lies, and those in authority turn a blind eye to the medical evidence. Julie- miraculously- survives the horrors of her early years, and with enormous bravery has gone on to write this searing autobiography. Difficult, challenging, uncomfortable - Sickened is all of those and more. Julie has opened the eyes of the world to a condition which corrupts the love between parent and child, betraying the most fundamental human emotion of all. (Kirkus UK)

Andrea Ashworth, bestselling author of Once in a House on Fire
My heart beat too fast from start to finish ... totally unforgettable

Washington Post
One wishes this book could get into the hands of all the suffering children who need it

Customer Reviews

A whole new dimension of child abuse.
This book certainly sickened me. The strange thing is, how on earth do intelligent doctors/nurses get drawn in by these manipulative mothers..? I was left extremely disturbed by the ending of this book - i didn`t like that at all. I hope one day we will hear the `ending of that ending` - so to speak.

brilliantly brought to light!!
I had to review this book for the simple fact that firstly for someone who has no education in journalism or has never wrote a book before,julie gregory has done a fantastic job in writing her childhood memoir or should i say "nightmare".In this book Julie Gregory brings to light,'munchausen by proxy syndrome'its a little known form of child abuse where a caretaker or parent of a child,purposly makes a child ill,then constantly seekshelp and re-assurance!!I literally couldnt put this book down i read it in 2 evenings flat,and hell did i cry,i wanted to pick this child from within the pages and cuddle her,save her,help her,anything!Julie gregory received years of abuse from her mother,which continued as a result into her adult life sadly.after a meeting with her mother after 6 years apart julie visits her mother,to find she has adopted 2 children,at close inspection,she sees the vision of herself in the young girl and sees all the signs of abuse over again,she confronts her mother,and asks why?she then picks up the phone and calls child protection services on her mother.......an absolute heartbreaking,unbelievable,unconsolable tale of a horrible illness

I just can't like it :( .....
I think it's more that I just feel uncomfortable reading books like this. I read it as it was recommended by a friend. It is a very sad, interesting and eye opening story, but not one I enjoyed and struggled to get through. Anyone who enjoys books like this will probably love it, but I won't be reading anymore like it.