Surviving Mama

by Pamela E Thompson

Overview

Surviving Mama is a stirring and thought-provoking self-help guide brimming with illustrative examples and empowering life lessons geared toward women from young adulthood to mid-life. It takes the reader on a journey through eight narratives of females sharing their experiences of their mothers' self-absorption, demanding ways, jealousies, belittling jabs, excessive worry, controlling nature, narrow-minded perspective, or perhaps even mental illness. Each of the eight chapters concludes with clinical and biblical analyses of what's happening in the relationship in addition to reflective questions designed to heighten the readers' self-awareness and healing. The last two chapters provide practical "how-to" instructions on navigating a difficult relationship with Mama honorably. It's important to note that the mothers featured in the book were not abusive but were, in fact, "good" mothers in the sense that the daughters were loved and appropriately clothed, fed, educated, protected and celebrated with birthday parties, Christmas gifts and the like. However, as the daughters have matured, they've realized stifling incompatibility in their mother-daughter relationships that greatly impact their lives in debilitating ways. They now look upon their mothers' character deficits as impossible to ignore. Readers are invited to share in the daughters' struggles to remain loving and embracing of their mothers who are as loving as they are imperfect. Surviving Mama is for women who want to mature in recognizing Mama's inappropriate and unproductive behaviors, to transcend them with enhanced boundary-setting, and to make peace in the relationship--even if Mama never "gets" it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780983188902
Publisher:	Building Bridges to Better Lives
Publication date:	05/25/2011
Pages:	180
Sales rank:	240,849
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dr. Pamela Thompson, a psychologist and professional life coach, has provided varied mental health services for adult males and females, married and pre-marital couples, and adolescent females since 1996. Her desire is to make psychology user-friendly and approachable as she works to debunk the myth that psychology is just for "crazy people." In so doing, she makes herself available for community forums and workshops, as well as magazine, radio and television interviews. She is a member of the network of providers associated with the nationally syndicated radio show "New Life Live." She is also an active member of the Sesame Street Advisory Board and served as an on-line columnist in 2008 for Divorce360.com, a website dedicated to helping those contemplating, going through, or adjusting to divorce. Additionally, she has been a contributor in various capacities for Pink Magazine online, Black Enterprise and Essence Magazines, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Michael Baisden Show, WAOK-AM 1380's Morning Talk with Dr. Lorraine Jacques White, and People 2 People with Jocelyn Dorsey on WSB-TV.

Prior to and while owning and operating her private practice, she has provided clinical services to prisons throughout Georgia, most notably to Metro State Prison for women in Atlanta. At Metro, she oversaw the mental health assessment of some 50 new inmates a week. She also facilitated or co-facilitated several groups there on the subjects of forgiving yourself, emotional eating, cognitive re-structuring, choosing to live, and personal empowerment. Based on her experiences at the prison, she co-authored a chapter on "Mood Disorders in Incarcerated Women" in a textbook entitled Health Issues Among Incarcerated Women. Now, Dr. Thompson looks forward to the release of her highly anticipated first published book, Surviving Mama: Overcoming Strained Mother-Daughter Relationships, An Adult Daughter's Guide.

Her previous career in public relations has also afforded her a unique comfort level in her communication skills that nudges interviewees to confront the "elephant in the room" head-on. She is best known for integrating her clinical skills and knowledge with a biblical worldview, though she has been delighted to provide services for people of all faiths. However her greatest joy in her professional life is derived from serving those who desire help in applying clinical guidance and biblical wisdom in decision-making, problem-solving, relationship attraction and maintenance, and daily life in general.

Dr. Thompson is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and received her undergraduate education at the University of Georgia where she received her B.A. in journalism (concentration in public relations) and the Georgia School of Professional Psychology where she received her M.A. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. She completed her clinical internship at the University of Tennessee and her post-doctoral fellowship at Metro State Prison for Women. She has been licensed as a psychologist since 2002 and has owned her private practice, Building Bridges to Better Lives, since 2004.