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Laura E. Corbeth

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My Courage to Tell: Facing a Childhood Bully and Reclaiming My Inner Child Revised Edition Kindle Edition

by Laura Corbeth (Author), Anita Federici (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 50 ratings

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My Courage to Tell (Revised Edition) is the story of one woman’s struggle to overcome a childhood of abuse at the hands of her cruel, bullying brother. Memories of this abuse remain deeply buried until an Aunt dies in Manhattan, leaving an estate Laura Corbeth must settle with her estranged brother. As she tries to administer the estate, Laura is plagued by symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Suppressed memories start to rise to the surface.

Laura begins to remember, and to face, a childhood of psychological and physical abuse. No cuts. No bruises. No scratches. Her brother was sly, constraining her to spit in her face, lick her or perform tickle torture. He took pleasure in dominating her and playing on her fears – relishing his control over his younger sibling. His lies and manipulations terrified her. Witnessing his torture of animals, left no doubt in Laura’s mind that her tormentor would follow through on his threat that he would kill her if she told.

And, where were her parents? Rather than investigating Laura’s deteriorating situation, they believed their son’s continuous lies as he denied his abuse of Laura. When they did catch glimpses of their son’s cruelty, they put it down to sibling rivalry. But it was not sibling rivalry. It was ruthless, relentless, psychological and physical abuse. And, by not dealing with it, her parents were complicit. Unheard, unprotected, Laura was completely on her own.

My Courage to Tell is one of the first memoirs to shine a light on abuse from a sibling’s perspective. It also reveals how families that buy into the lies and manipulations, ignore the problems and stonewall, enable the abuser and foster mental illness.

Travel with Laura as she uncovers her past, finds the help and courage to face that past and ultimately confronts her abuser and her family.

Editorial Reviews

Review

My Courage to Tell makes the invisible visible. Reading Laura's account of healing and recovery is inspirational and is an outstanding contribution to the literature on psychological abuse in families. Her willingness to confront and share the scary and painful reality of her childhood and detail how various treatment interventions allowed her to work through distressing memories, emotions, and beliefs will pave the way for others who recognize themselves in Laura's story. This is a story about hope, resilience and strength for anyone experiencing psychological abuse.
--Anita Federici, Ph.D, Clinical Psychologist

Many have endured childhood bullying but one must imagine living all day, everyday with a bully to have an idea of how destructive that could be. My Courage to Tell is a page-turner about how the author survived years of constant abuse, how she confronted her tormentor and how she was able to move on to live a happy, productive life.

It's uncomfortable knowing someone went through such traumatic events but Ms. Corbeth's descriptive style takes the reader on this journey. She introduced stories from her past that grabbed my attention and I therefore found myself glued to the pages. One such story involved a poor Scottish aunt who died somewhat famous in NYC, a severe hoarder without a will. How did she get to America? How did she get her money?Why did she become a hoarder? What happened to her wealth? I wanted to know yet knew, in the context of this story, the answers would be unsettling.

My Courage to Tell will be of special interest to those whom have endured abuse/bullying and/or enjoy real-life stories of survival and healing.

--Dr. S.B. MacKenzie, B.Sc., MBA, PhD

About the Author

Laura Corbeth is now in her mid fifties. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband of twenty-two years, her twenty-year old son and two rescued dogs. She is a successful entrepreneur, having owned, along with her husband, a graphic design and marketing business for over two decades. She is passionate about her business. She is also an avid animal lover. She volunteers with various dog rescue organizations - she wants to "save them all." Laura decided to write and publish this book, to give hope to others who have suffered a similar fate. She wants to give hope to others that flow of abuse can be stopped and that healing can take place. This is her incredible true story of becoming a survivor.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MV3LG3H
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 15, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1274 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 238 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,588,114 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,450 in Self-Help for Abuse
- #3,444 in Mental Illness
- #3,686 in Abuse Self-Help

Customer Reviews:
3.9 50 ratings

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Laura E. Corbeth

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Laura Corbeth is now in her mid fifties. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband of twenty-two years, her twenty-year old son and two rescued dogs. She is a successful entrepreneur, having owned, along with her husband, a graphic design and marketing business for over two decades. She is passionate about her business. She is also an avid animal lover. She volunteers with various dog rescue organizations – she wants to “save them all.”

Laura decided to write and publish this book, to give hope to others who have suffered a similar fate. She wants to give hope to others that flow of abuse can be stopped and that healing can take place. This is her incredible true story of becoming a survivor.

You can follow Laura on Twitter: @laura_corbeth.

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3.9 out of 5

50 global ratings

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Nancy Bourque

Must read book for school counselors, parents and anyone who has been bullied for any reason.

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2019

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Laura Corbeth author of My Courage to Tell is the most courageous woman to be able to come forward with the bullying and abuse she tolerated by her brother as a child. This book is one I couldn't put down. It's a story that needs to be told as there are many who may have tolerated bullying, torture, or controlled by an older brother. Whether or not you have been bullied to the extent that Laura was, you need to read this book in preparation for someone who may come forward and need someone safe to talk to. It's time that we allow our feelings and experiences come to the forefront and quit holding these situations in. It's not healthy to any degree. In my opinion I think this book should be read by every school counselor and parents. It's time we wake up and listen to what young children have to say and pay attention to the type of behavior going on in your home. These bullies need to be stopped... even if it is in your home. There is help available for the one being bullied and the bully . Please don't let yourself or someone close to you live with the shame and guilt that bullying in the home can cause. I could write so much more, but I hope all of you will take the time to get this book and read it immediately. Bullying of any type is inexcusable, but in your own home and to a young child is even more painful. Thank you Laura for a very personal and difficult book to write! You are an incredible inspiration to myself and others!

4 people found this helpful

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Dana A.

A Page Turner for Healing Trauma

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2019

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My Courage to Tell by Laura Corbeth demonstrates how traumatic psychological abuse truly is. She bravely walks the reader through her horrific childhood through adulthood sharing the nonstop gaslighting, manipulation, and harassment of her older brother. As an abuse survivor from a toxic birth family, I related to everything Laura wrote. It truly opened up my eyes to see how covert my own sister was during my childhood and why I eventually went no contact with her as well as my entire dysfunctional family. I can empathize with Laura about her mother taking the brother's side and always falling for his fabricated excuses. It's frustrating when a parent does not protect their child, listen to them, and validate what they're going through, especially when it's any form of physical, mental, spiritual, or sexual abuse. Another red flag that Laura mentioned in her story is to be aware of when someone is intentionally hurting animals, including cats, dogs, frogs, rabbits, and so on. Animal brutality is clearly a psychological illness and very cruel. I loved that Laura shared her experience about her trauma-informed therapist as well as she added the therapeutic steps that she took during her healing journey. If you have experienced any form of abuse, including narcissistic abuse, this book is a must read. It will help you to understand that you are not going crazy and you need to listen to your gut instincts. I highly recommend this captivating story, which will empower you to have the courage to speak up and create your own healthy boundaries.

5 people found this helpful

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Risky Granny

Maybe you will see yourself

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2020

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Of all forms of abuse, psychological, emotional abuse, gaslighting are often not taken seriously, and repressed by the victim. So this book could be an eye-opener for some who have repressed the memory but are suffering the consequences. My rating of this book is not about the writing but is related to my reaction to the content. I am now a senior citizen, but my first suicide attempt as a result of trauma after childhood abuse was at age 21 (and continuing about 45 years of off and on therapy). Thus it is hard for me to accept that Laura went so long in life without understanding what was happening or what had happened. As I read I kept talking to her to "wake up! What are you doing?!" I began to get angry at Laura for being so naive. And as my best therapist once said to me, " Why do you keep going back to the well when you know it's dry?! " (reference to relationship with mother, wanting her to be something she's not, just like Laura). It got to the point where I couldn't wait to finish the book. I understand this was mostly on me, and at the same time I felt there was a lot of repetition and time going back and forth. I thought the book could have been half as long.

Having said that, which is just my personal reaction to the book, I think anyone suffering from repressed abuse might find this to be a key to unlock some memories. The author was brave to write the book and I'm sure it was cathartic for her also. Setting feelings on paper often makes them more understandable. For someone not a professional author, she did a pretty good job. If readers accept this as a biography and self-help book instead of a "story", it will be more enjoyable.

3 people found this helpful

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Sandra Jeffs

An important account of sibling abuse and non-physical abuse's damage

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2018

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This is an extremely important abuse issue that is not talked about often enough. Sibling abuse with verbal, mental, and emotional abuse is very damaging to a person's psyche. It can leave the person wounded deeply with very little way to explain to others why he or she is so damaged. Many times, as is the case with Laura's sibling, the person is a master manipulator and fools others into thinking the abuser is the victim and the real victim is a liar and making up fantasies. Further damaging the person who was already brutalized throughout childhood.
Laura does a good job of outlining the abuse. However, her writing style is choppy which leaves the reader wondering if the abuse was really that bad. She also often tells us what she said and he said rather than weaving the events so a reader can feel the magnitude of what happened to her, so we are able to put ourselves in her shoes and empathize with her pain, celebrate at her recovery.
I applaud her for her courage to bare her soul in this book in a hope to help other victims still suffering out there. It is worth a read to educate yourself and to pass this book on to victims who need to know they are not alone and not the crazy one.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Susan Weiß

A book to recognize the symptoms and patterns of sibling abuse

Reviewed in Germany on July 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sibling abuse - something I have never really heard of or considered.
But I‘m sure it‘s happening a lot more than we are aware of. With devastating consequences for the victims.
Laura‘s book touched me deeply. It is so brave to tell the truth and to tell your story.
Not an easy read esp when you were a victim yourself.
But everyone who works with children, families should read it. It‘s a great resource to recognize the patterns of abuse.
I highly recommend this book.

Lisa Smith

I dont feel so alone

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book looking for answers to my own toxic family situation and I did feel like I wasn't alone after I had read the book.
Families are not like they are in fairy tales.
Mothers are not all caring, interested, supportive and nurturing.
The author clearly demonstrates how traumatic experiences during childhood within a family environment can affect your adult life significantly.
More importantly the writer tells us how she reached the end of her tether and decided to deal with her past trauma to give herself some kind of closure so that she could start to heal.
What I took from the book was that with strength we can move on and start enjoying life again without the restraints of family duty.

2 people found this helpful

Cheryl fynes

Wow interesting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

So open and honest ...it is great to reach a point on recovery that you and visit your inner child and try
To heal the trauma amazing well done fantastic book

Amazon customer

Very interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

I am very sorry for Laura. She obviously feels she is a victim but she appears to come across as very needy, critical, jealous and attempts to turn everyone against her brother for nit picky reasons.

This shows in her obvious desire to try to gain her mother's emotions and sympathy to try to evict her brother from the family, especially from her mother.

It appears to me that her mother loves all her children unconditionally and does not want to side with anyone nor outcast any of her children yet Laura seems determined to only promote her brother in a negative light towards her mother and anyone else who will listen.

I am wondering why that is and can only conclude Laura has a deep insecurity and a need to crave attention.

Acknowledging her brother has mental health problems she fails to be compassionate and show love towards him instead seeing it as a triumph that there 'is something wrong with him '.

Many people do not get on with family members and it is a sad and unfortunate thing yet I would have imagined someone like Laura would have gained some clarity and insight with maturity yet would rather cut her brother off than to help guide him on his life path. I do not see the severity of what he has done to deserve this.

It strikes me that the enclosed environment the family has obviously grown up in contributes to the immaturity of emotions and a failure to seek understanding and forgiveness of each other in what could be a strong and loving family that all work together.

I sincerely hope that certain people will search deep inside themselves and learn to put others first rather than themselves.

Life is tough and there are very few individuals that truly accept and genuinely care about others but you only receive these things when you give them yourself.

Laura should tone down the negativity and rejoice in her brother's achievements rather than worry he is taking the limelight.

Learn how to be a real loving family and the things you can all achieve would be endless.

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Coming forward is a thankless act

Reviewed in Canada on February 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

I know that it takes a great deal of courage to come forward and expose your family secrets and air the dirty laundry for others to see. Sadly, it's also a thankless act. Stories like this are being told, survivors of abuse (in various forms) are sharing their heartbreaking experiences as a means of healing, to help raise awareness as to just how often these situations happen. I certainly do understand the author's frustration about not being heard, not being taken seriously, and most importantly, not being protected by those who are obligated to have your best interest in mind.

Thank You, Laura! Thank you for coming forward and sharing your experience and shedding light on a topic that often gets overlooked.

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My Courage to Tell: Facing a Childhood Bully and Reclaiming My Inner Child Revised Edition Kindle Edition

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