This book differs from your typical "Painful Lives" autobiography in the unusual form of abuse it chronicles. Munchausen by proxy is a largely unknown phenomenon, and difficult to understand for those unfamiliar to the idea; after all, how could a person deceive a whole string of doctors - as well as the child herself - that a perfectly healthy child had a mysterious disease so serious it might require open heart surgery to diagnose?
The positives of this book: you can really start to see the psychology behind the abusers. The anecdotes about Gregory's grandmother basically highlight blaringly the similarities between her grandmother's behaviour and her mother's behaviour - showing how these patterns can be learned and passed down, adopted as normal.
The negatives: this is a person's life; it is not a story. It's also not a life that was adapted to sound like a story. It's just the life of a person who happens to be remarkably good at writing down her thoughts and memories. Although there is a conflict, protagonist, antagonist, and a resolution, it still reads like a life, not like a story. If you don't mind that, then this isn't a problem. Gregory's writing is simply enthralling.

A Book of Pure Anger and Heartbreak

This is one of the worst stories I’ve ever read; there were a number of moments that made me feel nauseated and enraged. That Julie Gregory survived this kind of abuse and STILL had to go about mentoring and healing herself because the mental/ health workers she turned to consistently denied the veracity of her experiences shocks me. I’m in awe of her ability to survive, I wish her well as she continues to recover, and I hope to hell she never speaks to the people who called themselves her parents again.

This is an excellent book about a subject more people should take action on.As a nurse I can personally say I have seen how M.By Proxy syndrome can destroy children.Recommended for anyone interested in psychological disorders!

{as always, how many stars to you give a memoir such as this?!}

I remember learning about this horrible illness at uni and could barely comprehend then, that what some mothers could do to their children. The bond of mother and child is a very special one and almost all mothers would do anything to ensure the health and happiness of their children. But not all. Some go to great lengths to make their children sick and drag them from Doctor to Doctor to gather useless (and harmful) medications and request unnecessary surgeries.

Such is the case with Julie and her mother. As far back as she can remember, she was sick. She was even constantly told she was ugly and wouldn't amount to much. One of her first memories was getting a treat from her mother - a matchstick that she chewed and sucked like a lollipop. And so began her life of real and fabricated illnesses on a merry-go-round that she eventually was able to step away from. Not all similar cases are so lucky.

This remarkable story is told in swift, seductive detail by a true survivor. Julie Gregory is a brave warrior and a wonderful writer, right up there in class with the much-beloved Jeannette Walls of "Glass Castle" fame. That her tale sheds light on a complex disorder known as Munchausen by Proxy (perpetrated on her by both her grandmother and mother) makes it all the more important and worthwhile.

So interesting and a quick read; a fascinating look into the childhood of someone suffering through Munchausen by proxy - but also of witnessing and experiencing abuse, neglect, poverty, and discovering identity. Reminded me a bit of Glass Castle because of the incredibly dysfunctional family. Writing is excellent.

Sickened is an account of Julie Gregory's childhood life in and out of doctors’ offices and the journey to find "what was wrong with her." Julie had to endure painful procedures like being cut into her leg in order to see if her heart was working properly after other, safer, tests came back negative for a heart condition. Julie never knew what was wrong with her, but followed her mothers lead into telling the doctors her many symptoms that were either exaggerated or not even true at all. Julie was around the age of four when her mother started taking her to doctors saying that there was some thing wrong and that she was sick. It is not until Julie reaches her teens that her mother is diagnosed with MBP, Munchausen by proxy. MBP is a mental illness disease of child abuse where the caretaker fabricates illnesses to a child. This was happening to Julie for all her childhood. After Julie discovers her mother’s illness she runs away from her family but eventually returns missing her family, including her mother, and gets her mom committed to a hospital for her mental disorder.
tI gave this book a rating of three. I did really enjoy the book but the story line always seemed to veer off into random life memory’s that did somewhat commit to the topic at hand but had a few holes that left me somewhat confused at times.
tThis book talks about child abuse and mental disorders, so I would recommend Sickened to those of who that find that interesting and enjoying reading about those topics. Also if read A Child Called It and enjoyed it this book would be good to read because it deals with the same concept of child abuse and overcoming the challenges in adult life.
t “Two of the toughest kids in Ohio singing lyrics of a lost childhood out their bitter throats without a smile or iron.” Julie and her brother have reunited with each other after three years; they are now adults but still struggle from the abuse they went through as children.

The early version of this book was excellent and held nothing back. However, due to the continued real life drama from Julie's mother, she was forced to edit out many of the gory, realistic details from latter versions of the book. The latter versions of this book still capture many of the horrors that this girl survived, however, it minimizes the full extent of her mothers illness. This has the potential to be a life changing book for anyone who reads and absorbs it. I was fortunate enough to get to know her on a personal level a few years ago, and she is one of the most down to earth, realistic, people out there. She does not gloss over child abuse, or pretend that it is possible to heal and start anew by age 25. This book is not for the faint of heart.

Reviews of this book have called it scattered and disorganized... guess what, that's how people who were severely abused as children write and think.

This book was incredible, I couldn’t put it down. Julie Gregory lived through the most heartbreaking, horrific childhood, and through sheer determination recovered herself. And not just recovered herself but determined to save others: another little girl from her own mother specifically, and by becoming a psychiatrist herself, many more children/adults generally. It’s an astounding story written with such a keen eye for observation and words that build pictures like poetry. I can’t help but wonder if she wrote a sequel because I want to read more!

Reading a book like Sickened really brings it home what sickos we have living with us on this planet. It's amazing that Julie survived her childhood but there is no way she'd not carry the psychological scars of what was done to her. It seems that her grandmother probably did the same to her mother when she was little. The scariest thing is that her mother carried on'adopting' more children so was able to continue doing the same thing and ruining the childhoods and lives of others. I agree with some of the other reviewers, an epilogue would have been nice, just to know the 'adopted' children were removed from her and she would be kept far away from children in the future. It is frightening to know that there is still someone as sick as her mother out there, taking care of children. I wonder how many mothers suffer from Munchausens by Proxy, and am distressed with how difficult it is for doctors to pick up when the mothers can just jump from doctor to doctor.

Ciężko mi się pozbierać po tej książce. Nie wyobrażam sobie budowania nowego życia po takim dzieciństwie.

To co się dzieje w tej książce jest przerażające.