About Me

I was born and raised in Greenville, SC and have BA and MBA degrees from Furman University. After a five-year stint in the apparel trade, I spent over 30 years in the pharma industry. My extensive training with healthcare providers raised my awareness of the mental health issues I discuss in this book. More importantly, my interaction and access to these professionals gave me the direction and much needed resolve to confidently pursue a wrongful death suit against a hospital system intent on avoiding blame while engaged in a cover up.

Because of my interest in the impact of mental health issues on families, my husband, Maury and I are passionate supporters of Thornwell. This 150 year old organization is dedicated to helping abused and abandoned children as well as helping families deal with life struggles. My other volunteer interests include, Golden Retriever Rescue, pet provisions for Meals On Wheels, visiting shut ins and working with prison ministries to help inmates re-enter society with gainful employment.

Maury and I live in Hilton Head, SC with our two adorable dogs, Ruby and Jack.

About Me

I was born and raised in Greenville, SC and have BA and MBA degrees from Furman University. After a five-year stint in the apparel trade, I spent over 30 years in the pharma industry. My extensive training with healthcare providers raised my awareness of the mental health issues I discuss in this book. More importantly, my interaction and access to these professionals gave me the direction and much needed resolve to confidently pursue a wrongful death suit against a hospital system intent on avoiding blame while engaged in a cover up.

Because of my interest in the impact of mental health issues on families, my husband, Maury and I are passionate supporters of Thornwell. This 150 year old organization is dedicated to helping abused and abandoned children as well as helping families deal with life struggles. My other volunteer interests include, Golden Retriever Rescue, pet provisions for Meals On Wheels, visiting shut ins and working with prison ministries to help inmates re-enter society with gainful employment.

Maury and I live in Hilton Head, SC with our two adorable dogs, Ruby and Jack.

About Me

I was born and raised in Greenville, SC and have BA and MBA degrees from Furman University. After a five-year stint in the apparel trade, I spent over 30 years in the pharma industry. My extensive training with healthcare providers raised my awareness of the mental health issues I discuss in this book. More importantly, my interaction and access to these professionals gave me the direction and much needed resolve to confidently pursue a wrongful death suit against a hospital system intent on avoiding blame while engaged in a cover up.

Because of my interest in the impact of mental health issues on families, my husband, Maury and I are passionate supporters of Thornwell. This 150 year old organization is dedicated to helping abused and abandoned children as well as helping families deal with life struggles. My other volunteer interests include, Golden Retriever Rescue, pet provisions for Meals On Wheels, visiting shut ins and working with prison ministries to help inmates re-enter society with gainful employment.

Maury and I live in Hilton Head, SC with our two adorable dogs, Ruby and Jack.

Book Trailer

About The Book

All five of us in our family were harmed by Mom’s inability to be empathetic to us. And as a result, we took that baggage and impacted ourselves and others. Leo Tolstoy said, “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in it’s own way.”

Set in upstate South Carolina, Kathryn Purcell’s memoir gives an honest retelling of her life, as she narrates the story of her dysfunctional family including a mother with covert narcissism and a sister with bi polar disorder. You will meet colorful characters that became instrumental in her life. Some were positive while others left lasting scars.

At turns uproariously funny and heartbreakingly sad, There’s Something Wrong With Us, is the story of a daughter dealing with generations of mental illness, sudden loss and profound grief and finally her journey to healing.

Read More

About The Book

All five of us in our family were harmed by Mom’s inability to be empathetic to us. And as a result, we took that baggage and impacted ourselves and others. Leo Tolstoy said, “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in it’s own way.”

Set in upstate South Carolina, Kathryn Purcell’s memoir gives an honest retelling of her life, as she narrates the story of her dysfunctional family including a mother with covert narcissism and a sister with bi polar disorder. You will meet colorful characters that became instrumental in her life. Some were positive while others left lasting scars.

At turns uproariously funny and heartbreakingly sad, There’s Something Wrong With Us, is the story of a daughter dealing with generations of mental illness, sudden loss and profound grief and finally her journey to healing.

Read More

Got A Question?

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About The Book

As a daughter raised by a narcissistic mother and having an older sister with bi-polar disorder, I can speak knowledgeably and frankly about the emotional damage done to families impacted by mental illness.

My memoir, There’s Something Wrong With Us: A Daughter’s Story of Mental Illness, Loss and Healing, tells the story of how I survived and eventually healed from such an experience.  My parents were well-educated but twelve years apart in age, with distinctly different backgrounds. Dad was raised to be the bread winner and Mom was expected to rear the kids. That arrangement was a petri dish for the lack of nurturing my two other siblings and I experienced growing up. Starting at an early age, my sister exhibited aggressive behavior that worsened as she got older.

My self-absorbed mother found parenting her a challenge and gave up on the rest of our family to dedicate more time to her. Mom’s controlling nature kept us from bonding with others outside our immediate family, so we each developed our own coping strategies to deal with her abuse. Each was different, but the internal result was the same: emotionally starved kids in need of love and validation.

I have struggled much of my life with feeling wounded easily by others, believing my need for their approval was necessary for me to like myself. After countless times hearing me describe my hurtful family life, my husband suggested I write this book. I took his suggestion, and the result is There’s Something Wrong With Us: A Daughter’s Story of Mental Illness, Loss and Healing.

I wrote it partly to acknowledge the hardships I overcame but mainly to focus on the positive impact many people have had on my spirit. It’s easy to dwell on the negative, but it’s far more powerful to focus on the positive influence from those who helped me grow into the person I am. A life-saving sense of humor also helped me to not take myself and my life too seriously, shaping my optimistic nature and made it easy for me to bond readily with people. Although I still contend with self-doubt, I do not allow it to consume me for long.

My research on narcissistic mothers has led me to believe these women are raising daughters who choose not to have children. As one of those daughters, I can say we fear being like our mothers and inflicting the same harm on our own children as was done to us. I hope by sharing this story with others, women who have similar stories will realize they are not alone. I believe that although we daughters of abusive mothers may always hurt from that toxic relationship, we can find strategies to more easily cope with the baggage.

Set in the Upstate of South Carolina, this memoir is populated with some quirky, colorful characters that lend further humor and interest. My story is at times uproariously funny, disturbingly sad, and downright heartbreaking as I take readers on the journey of my life. Readers meet those vital, “sanity saving” people along the way who helped me survive the lack of nurturing that my mother could not supply. These folks threw me lifelines, and I grabbed each one not fully realizing their impact on me until much later.

As a daughter raised by a narcissistic mother and having an older sister with bi-polar disorder, I can speak knowledgeably and frankly about the emotional damage done to families impacted by mental illness.

My memoir, There’s Something Wrong With Us: A Daughter’s Story of Mental Illness, Loss and Healing, tells the story of how I survived and eventually healed from such an experience.  My parents were well-educated but twelve years apart in age, with distinctly different backgrounds. Dad was raised to be the bread winner and Mom was expected to rear the kids. That arrangement was a petri dish for the lack of nurturing my two other siblings and I experienced growing up. Starting at an early age, my sister exhibited aggressive behavior that worsened as she got older.

My self-absorbed mother found parenting her a challenge and gave up on the rest of our family to dedicate more time to her. Mom’s controlling nature kept us from bonding with others outside our immediate family, so we each developed our own coping strategies to deal with her abuse. Each was different, but the internal result was the same: emotionally starved kids in need of love and validation.

I have struggled much of my life with feeling wounded easily by others, believing my need for their approval was necessary for me to like myself. After countless times hearing me describe my hurtful family life, my husband suggested I write this book. I took his suggestion, and the result is There’s Something Wrong With Us: A Daughter’s Story of Mental Illness, Loss and Healing.

I wrote it partly to acknowledge the hardships I overcame but mainly to focus on the positive impact many people have had on my spirit. It’s easy to dwell on the negative, but it’s far more powerful to focus on the positive influence from those who helped me grow into the person I am. A life-saving sense of humor also helped me to not take myself and my life too seriously, shaping my optimistic nature and made it easy for me to bond readily with people. Although I still contend with self-doubt, I do not allow it to consume me for long.

My research on narcissistic mothers has led me to believe these women are raising daughters who choose not to have children. As one of those daughters, I can say we fear being like our mothers and inflicting the same harm on our own children as was done to us. I hope by sharing this story with others, women who have similar stories will realize they are not alone. I believe that although we daughters of abusive mothers may always hurt from that toxic relationship, we can find strategies to more easily cope with the baggage.

Set in the Upstate of South Carolina, this memoir is populated with some quirky, colorful characters that lend further humor and interest. My story is at times uproariously funny, disturbingly sad, and downright heartbreaking as I take readers on the journey of my life. Readers meet those vital, “sanity saving” people along the way who helped me survive the lack of nurturing that my mother could not supply. These folks threw me lifelines, and I grabbed each one not fully realizing their impact on me until much later.

Reviews

 A fresh southern voice, Kathryn Purcell weaves rich story-telling into complex family dynamics. Bravo for entertaining us while shining a light on issues that matter to so many.

An authentic southern voice brings to light complex family dynamics through superb story-telling and characters we’d love to meet.

Barb Collins, Co-Founder, Together Women Rising

I finished this book in 24 hours which is a record for me…and have tears in my eyes as I type. I laughed, I cried… and then laughed and cried some more. I screen shot several sections so I can read again. Kathryn’s strength and sense of humor will certainly impact those who are fortunate enough to read this story. I loved the “angels” that Kathryn had in her life especially her husband…so glad they found each other. Inspiring that she persevered in her efforts to help her sister and pursue a loving relationship with her mother.

Elise Witman, Hilton Head Island, SC

Kathryn Purcell’s engrossing memoir vividly details her experiences from early childhood to middle age and the devastating impact an unloving mother has on her children’s lives.  Although her story can be sad and poignant at times, it is also bursting with many happy and funny memories of positive events and people especially her father and her husband.   “There’s Something Wrong with Us” is ultimately a triumphant story of how the author integrates and overcomes the painful legacy of a damaging upbringing to live a full, happy and productive life. A wonderful read.

Antonia B., Greenville, SC

Reviews

 A fresh southern voice, Kathryn Purcell weaves rich story-telling into complex family dynamics. Bravo for entertaining us while shining a light on issues that matter to so many.

An authentic southern voice brings to light complex family dynamics through superb story-telling and characters we’d love to meet.

Barb Collins, Co-Founder, Together Women Rising

I finished this book in 24 hours which is a record for me…and have tears in my eyes as I type. I laughed, I cried… and then laughed and cried some more. I screen shot several sections so I can read again. Kathryn’s strength and sense of humor will certainly impact those who are fortunate enough to read this story. I loved the “angels” that Kathryn had in her life especially her husband…so glad they found each other. Inspiring that she persevered in her efforts to help her sister and pursue a loving relationship with her mother.

Elise Witman, Hilton Head Island, SC

Kathryn Purcell’s engrossing memoir vividly details her experiences from early childhood to middle age and the devastating impact an unloving mother has on her children’s lives.  Although her story can be sad and poignant at times, it is also bursting with many happy and funny memories of positive events and people especially her father and her husband.   “There’s Something Wrong with Us” is ultimately a triumphant story of how the author integrates and overcomes the painful legacy of a damaging upbringing to live a full, happy and productive life. A wonderful read.

Antonia B., Greenville, SC

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Got A Question?

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