Weirdly, ones first reaction is to want more from this book. She didn't suffer enough, she should have been sicker, her mother should have been worse (and I'm not alone in this, there's other people who echo my thoughts but just aren't aware that they're hungry for the gore). The thing is, Gregory's abuse was severe and it doesn't matter how mild a case of Munchausen's it was- if you put yourself in her place, in the body and mind o a fragile, dependent child - the experience must have been horrific. Her mother was twisted, her father turned a blind eye and she was completely alone with her trauma. Her brother, so damaged by his childhood, that he's repressed all memories of it.

Not many of us have probably experienced a perfect childhood. Even if you had fabulous parents, I'm sure there were moments that have left you a little scarred. Perhaps a heated argument between your parents? Can you remember the fear from that moment? And I bet you still carry it around with you. Imagine living with Gregory's experiences. I experienced a fair amount of damaging shit in my childhood and it's amazing how the smallest things are what I recall, my stomach churning in knots - days where dad had had enough of being as patient as a saint with mum's bullshit and finally snapped, thumping his hand on a wall making a clock fall down and smash. The terror I remember from that moment is immense! Let alone someone like Gregory whose father smacked her head into the coffee table, or whose mother ignored broken wrists for her own amusement. Or stood by nonchalantly while her daughter screamed whilst getting catheters put in. Pain and trauma isn't comparable, everyone handles and processes it differently but you can't help but feel your heart go out to Julie.

The book itself was fairly well written. Gregory's prose was a little overblown and dramatic at times, she shifted tenses frequently and the last 30 pages or so dragged on without much structure but all in all, it was an interesting account of a childhood living with a MbP mother. It must have been extremely cathartic to write and I hope that she's in a much better place these days. I also hope that her mother has been brought to justice and has had the right to have access to children stripped from her. It's so sad that this shit happens in the world.

This was quite a disturbing read and difficult to get through how I finished it is beyond me, it made me feel ill reading such a horrific story of abuse Julie Gregory suffered at the hands of a mother with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Utterly shocking and heartbreaking.

*Book #57/72 of my 2019 coffee table to-read challenge, cont. 2020

Interesting novel written by a victim of Munchausen by Proxy. I've seen Munchausen in my practice and it is an ugly disease, and very diffcult at times to detect. I'm not surprised the abuse Ms. Gregory suffered went on as long as it did, because of how sneaky and insidious the disease is. She does an admirable job writing about the abuse without becoming maudlin or playing for sympathy. She seems to be a woman in charge of her own health now, and the story rings of her strength and ability to find meaning and peace in her life. I wish there had been more discussion of Munchausen and Munchausen by proxy so people who aren't familiar with it could really understand it. It is tragic that abuse is continued in families through this horrific illness and children are miserable and die because of it. It was an engrossing read and left me sad, horrified, and ultimately awed by Ms. Gregory's determination to break free of both being abused and being an abuser.

This is an amazing memoir, and I call it amazing because it never occurred to me that there were families such as Julie Gregory's. I'd heard of Munchausen by Proxy, but J. Gregory's family--not only her mother, but her father and grandparents--are all insane. Her family's lifestyle, while she was growing up, is so far out of the mainstream, that it's incredible that Julie Gregory grew up to be a functioning (and law-abiding)adult. It's a testiment to her strength and intelligence that Ms. Gregory was able to gain such perspective about what happened during her childhood, and to seek emotional freedom from it. I highly recommend this book.

(originally reviewed at n  elphareads.tumblr.comn)

In college I was a psych major with a focus in abnormal psychology. My final project was about traumatic childhood experiences and the comorbidity with violence later in life, if that gives you an idea of what I spent my time researching back in the day. One disorder that always gave me a serious case of the willies was Munchausen By Proxy. If you have been privy to a LAW AND ORDER marathon, a Lifetime Movie, or even THE SIXTH SENSE in your time, you are probably familiar with this disorder. Unlike Munchausen’s, the patient is not hurting themselves for attention. Instead, they are hurting their child. So fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when I was perusing the browse section of the library website. I stumbled upon a book called SICKENED: THE MEMORI OF A MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY CHILDHOOD by Julie Gregory. I was repelled by the thought of a child being abused in such a devious way, but my morbid curiosity got the best of me, and I requested it. I’ve heard of these cases from an outside perspective, never from that of the victim. I knew I was going to be in for a rough ride.

Julie Gregory grew up in a family would, at the VERY LEAST, be classified as dysfunctional. Her father was a Vietnam veteran who saw his friend’s head get blown off his body, and who was still suffering from Agent Orange poisoning. Her mother was a former horse stunt woman who was married off at a very young age to a man who could have been her grandfather, only to be widowed in her early twenties and left with nothing before she met Jule’s father. Julie always had a sickly childhood, and her mother would take her to the doctor all the time and insist that something was wrong with her, and demand that all kinds of medical interventions be used on her child. Julie’s story is that of constant medical intervention, along with verbal and emotional abuse by her mother and physical abuse by her father (usually instigated by her mother). As Julie got older she realized that there was something very wrong with all the medical trips, and as she dives into her history she discovers Munchausen’s By Proxy, a disorder that victimizes children at the whims of a attention starved parent.

Woof, this was a hard one to ready. Gregory’s childhood was a constant horror at the hands of her mother, and to a lesser (but no less profound) extent her father, who was easily berated into violence directed towards his daughter by the needling of his wife. Gregory talks about a gamut of horrors that she experienced, and how medial professionals were so quick to believe her mother instead of looking at the evidence in front of their eyes, evidence that would have shown how they were being manipulated. This book was horrifying and upsetting and gritty. Gregory’s parents were awful and vile in many ways, from violent to racist to abusive to just flat out mean. I can’t imagine living through that, and Gregory shows serious courage and strength in sharing her story. There is no denying that. I think that where this story lost me was that the end felt very abrupt, and I am not totally certain on how to find out how it all ended up. It also didn’t feel like as much of the focus was on Munchausen’s By Proxy, so much as an overall abusive family life with parts of it being MBP related. That isn’t to say that this theme doesn’t have a major role in the story, nor is it to say that this realization wasn’t very important to Gregory in her steps to heal.

SICKENED was a very difficult memoir to read, but ultimately I’m glad that I did. I’m also glad that Gregory was comfortable in sharing her story after living through such a hard and awful childhood. Those interested in abnormal psychology may want to give this one a try.

SICKENED is an eye-opening look at how sick some people can be.

If you haven't heard of it yet, this book is a first person account of growing up with a seriously mentally ill mother.

At the time Julie had no idea that being dragged to hospital after hospital was not how every child was treated. Her mother coached her on exactly what she was to say to the doctors.

The doctors were unaware that the symptoms were being faked and Julie was subjected to a litany of tests that an adult would find invasive and even painful. She even had unnecessary surgery. If Julie was not convincing enough, she was punished harshly by her mother.

When her mother was not dragging her to medical appointments and hospitals, Julie still had no escape from the abuse. At home (where she should have been able to feel safe and secure) her mother subjected her to more child abuse, including beatings and starvation.

As far as I am concerned, Julie Gregory deserves a medal for somehow finding the fortitude and inner strength to survive her horrific childhood and to grow up and become a "normal" member of society.

This is a book that needed to be written. Julie's mother was suffering from a mental disorder known as Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy. This is characterized by the person wanting the attention heaped on the mother of a sick child.

Julie Gregory has written a memoir that will stay with you probably for the rest of the reader's life. It is only through books such as this one that we, as a society, are educated about this form of child abuse, and with education comes vigilance. Now that people, especially those in the medical profession, know about this syndrome, they can watch for it and hopefully save many other children from suffering in the same way that Julie did.

I rate this book as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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This disturbing memoir is the account of a mother who intentionally invented symptoms and illness for her daughter to gain attention from medical professionals. This is known as Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. The best pop culture example is the little girl in the Sixth Sense (Mischa Barton pre-O.C. days). I learned a lot about this syndrome from a short medical introduction; the rest of the book is Julie Gregory’s story. It is heavy, lots of adult content and language. Some of the events that happened to this girl is so sad. It is eerie to see her medical records and disappointing to see how medical professionals overlooked her explanations and implicitly trusted her mother. I feel more informed after reading this but her story truly is horrifying in many aspects and a little depressing. It seemed like she really brushed over her recovery as well, but perhaps that is because there isn’t much known about MPS and not many therapists dealing in that particular specialty.

I'm not sure how to rate this book - it is tough to read this level of abuse. There is also some terrible language, with the author quoting things her mother said. I can't even imagine. I am glad I read this instead of listening to an audio book so I could skim through parts that were too hard to read. I wish there had been some advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future - but the author is the victim, not an expert, and I don't think providing advice is her role. I also found the writing style difficult - a lot of adjectives and adverbs, and it was hard to follow a timeline. I got confused about what happened when.

A powerful memoir about a young woman's messed childhood dealing with Munchausen by Proxy (MPB) at the hands of her mother. Prior to this book I had never heard of MPB, but after reading this sordid tell all, I definitely have a grasp for how horrible it is. Basically a parent or other figure convinces you that our sick and you need to go to doctor to doctor to find out what is wrong with you. Unnecessary tests, surgeries, and being forced to lie to doctors is just the tip of the ice berg. Her parents were also mean, abusive, belligerent, and uncaring. It's a horrifying book reminiscent of "A Child Called It." It's eye opening and I hope to God, that Julie Gregory is able to move on with her life for good. Soo much trauma, I can't even imagine.

Wow. Well, this book can be described with one word- disturbing. It made me sick just reading how Julie was affected by what her mother did. The entire time, I was SO ANGRY at the characters for what they did to Julie- no one should have to live like she did. I wouldn't suggest this to people who don't like to read about child abuse, because this was the ugliest and most disturbing form of abuse I have ever read about.

This book was a little disappointing. More than following the issues of Munchausen by Proxy, the author reveals more about the emotional and physical abuse her mother and father. I was expecting more detail (and I guess more Munchausen issues) then was given.

I've read a bit about MBP, but this is the first account I've read from the child's point of view. An extremely in depth account of what happens and how the child feels throughout the process. Unfathomable how they must feel and not only the fear they may feel about speaking up but the constant wondering if there is something wrong with them. Julie does an amazing job taking us into the feelings and emotions a to get us as close to 'understanding' as possible.