Millions of lives are damaged by the legacy of parental abuse. Parents who ignored their children's needs or overburdened them with guilt. Parents who were alcoholic or addicted to drugs. Parents who were exploitative and cruel, or simply indifferent and inadequate. When these children reach adulthood the damage done by their toxic parents manifests itself in depression, or difficulties with relationships, careers and decision-making. This book confronts this painful legacy and shows why it is so difficult to put the past behind you. She offers alternatives for achieving inner peace and for freeing yourself from the frustrating patterns of your relationships with your parents. Filled with case histories and testimony from adult children of toxic parents, this book also offers the self-help techniques Dr Forward has developed to change the lives of her patients.