
Growth
Karen DeBonis
Can a woman who never learned to stand up for herself find the courage to speak up for her son?
Medical gaslighting collides with a mother's people-pleasing, shattering her expectations of motherhood and threatening the survival of her young son.
Karen is a happily married, slightly frazzled working mother of two when her eight-year-old son, Matthew, develops a strange eye-rolling tic. Over the next three years, Matthew's tics multiply. He becomes clumsy and lethargic, a gifted program dropout. Karen repeatedly tries to get her husband and the pediatrician to open their eyes, but she is too full of self-doubt, too compulsively agreeable to tear off their blinders. Exhausted and full of despair, Karen crumples to the bathroom floor one night, wondering if she has the will to carry on. But she must persevere. Who else will fight for her son? Matthew finally receives a horrifying diagnosis. He is expected to "bounce back," however, convincing Karen that the battle is over. But the pain drags on, and she discovers just how weak--and then exactly how strong--she is.
Duration - 8h 5m.
Author - Karen DeBonis.
Narrator - Karen DeBonis.
Published Date - Monday, 29 January 2024.
Copyright - © 2023 Karen DeBonis ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
Can a woman who never learned to stand up for herself find the courage to speak up for her son? Medical gaslighting collides with a mother's people-pleasing, shattering her expectations of motherhood and threatening the survival of her young son. Karen is a happily married, slightly frazzled working mother of two when her eight-year-old son, Matthew, develops a strange eye-rolling tic. Over the next three years, Matthew's tics multiply. He becomes clumsy and lethargic, a gifted program dropout. Karen repeatedly tries to get her husband and the pediatrician to open their eyes, but she is too full of self-doubt, too compulsively agreeable to tear off their blinders. Exhausted and full of despair, Karen crumples to the bathroom floor one night, wondering if she has the will to carry on. But she must persevere. Who else will fight for her son? Matthew finally receives a horrifying diagnosis. He is expected to "bounce back," however, convincing Karen that the battle is over. But the pain drags on, and she discovers just how weak--and then exactly how strong--she is. Duration - 8h 5m. Author - Karen DeBonis. Narrator - Karen DeBonis. Published Date - Monday, 29 January 2024. Copyright - © 2023 Karen DeBonis ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:10
Front matter
Duration:00:01:16
Chapter 1: A Reckoning
Duration:00:07:50
Chapter 2: I'm Fine
Duration:00:16:30
Chapter 3: Learned Agreeableness
Duration:00:09:47
Chapter 4: Boundaries
Duration:00:11:08
Chapter 5: Secrets
Duration:00:13:27
Chapter 6: When He was Good
Duration:00:18:31
Chapter 7: Dividing Lines
Duration:00:19:00
Chapter 8: Matthew's Terrible, Horrible Zero
Duration:00:24:35
Chapter 9: A Losing Prospect
Duration:00:25:50
Chapter 10: We Can Hold It, Can't We?
Duration:00:25:28
Chapter 11: Red Herrings
Duration:00:19:55
Chapter 12: Forgetting Birthday Cupcakes
Duration:00:21:31
Chapter 13: Waiting for Answers
Duration:00:21:38
Chapter 14: Diagnostic Dartboard
Duration:00:25:55
Chapter 15: Betrayal
Duration:00:19:17
Chapter 16: She-Bear
Duration:00:20:53
Chapter 17: Why Does No One Cry?
Duration:00:22:11
Chapter 18: My Real, Messy Story
Duration:00:10:27
Chapter 19: New Year, Old Uncertainties
Duration:00:17:52
Chapter 20: Deflated Hopes
Duration:00:23:37
Chapter 21: At Odds with Motherhood
Duration:00:20:55
Chapter 22: Parented-Out
Duration:00:22:18
Chapter 23: Freedom at Last
Duration:00:24:50
Chapter 24: Living with a Poltergeist
Duration:00:30:28
Chapter 25: Post-Traumatic Growth
Duration:00:08:56
Back matter
Duration:00:00:43
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:11