Why am I passionate about this?

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I also have my Ph.D. in somatic psychotherapy. In my clinical practice, I noticed how many smart, kind women were trapped in trauma bonds. So, I researched the topic and decided to write a book to help women understand the complex psychological process of trauma bonds and how to recover from coercive control and abuse. Also, my ex-husband is the "Wolf of Wall Street", so I have personal experience of a trauma bond as well.


I wrote

Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds

By Nadine Macaluso,

Book cover of Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds

What is my book about?

In this book, I bring you my personal experience and years of expertise in trauma bonds to explain:

ā€¢ theā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Women Who Love Psychopaths: Inside the Relationships of Inevitable Harm with Psychopaths, Sociopaths & Narcissists

Nadine Macaluso Why did I love this book?

I loved this book because the research Sandra Brown illuminates about narcissistic abuse is groundbreaking.

I was gripped by how the author described the people who are the perpetrators of trauma bonds. It was the first book that I had read about domestic violence that did not blame the victim.

In fact, the author presented personality research that changed my whole perception of the victim in a trauma bond.

By Sandra L. Brown, Jennifer R. Young,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Women Who Love Psychopaths as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I have worked my whole career of 30+ years with narcissists, anti-socials, psychopaths and the women and children who loved them. The first edition of this book (2008) began exploring these relationships of inevitable harm as the book s first edition was the FIRST book to ever look at these relationships, the women, and their trauma. Since then, the field is exploding with the recognition of these dangerous and traumatizing pathological love relationships. Survivor books of My Life with a Narcissist/Psychopath fill book shelves giving a traumatizing view of the ordeal, but little understanding of: the survivor's trauma behind theā€¦


Book cover of The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships

Nadine Macaluso Why did I love this book?

I loved this book by Dr. Carnes because he presents an in-depth study of toxic relationships, why they form, who is most susceptible, and how they become so powerful.

The book kept my interest with how Dr. Carnes gave a clear explanation of the bond that compels people to tolerate the intolerable.

I also respected how the author provides practical steps to identify compulsive attachment patterns and ultimately to change or end them for good.

By Patrick Carnes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Betrayal Bond as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Some really great books just keep getting better!

For seventeen years The Betrayal Bond has been the primary source for therapists and patients wrestling the effects of emotional pain and harm caused by exploitation from someone they trusted.

Divorce, litigation, incest and child abuse, domestic violence, kidnapping, professional exploitation and religious abuse are all areas of trauma bonding. These are situations and relationships of incredible intensity or importance lend themselves more easily to an exploitation of trust or power.

In The Betrayal Bond, Dr. Carnes presents an in-depth study of these relationships; why they form, who is most susceptible, andā€¦


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Book cover of My War with Hemingway

My War with Hemingway by James Charles,

Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. He enrolls in college, where he falls in love with Jessica, a young woman from a wealthy family. Her love stabilizes him, and Hemingwayā€™s appearances become less frequent until she doesnā€™tā€¦

Book cover of Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

Nadine Macaluso Why did I love this book?

This is the best book ever written about the psychology of the male perpetrator in a trauma bond.

In this book, I was able to see into the mind of an abuser and no longer make excuses for them. I love how the author described the different types of abusers and how he explained how to leave a trauma bond.

I refer this book to every one of my patients.

By Lundy Bancroft,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this groundbreaking bestseller, Lundy Bancroftā€”a counselor who specializes in working with abusive menā€”uses his knowledge about how abusers think to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued, and to find ways to get free of an abusive relationship.

He says he loves you. So...why does he do that?
 
Youā€™ve asked yourself this question again and again. Now you have the chance to see inside the minds of angry and controlling menā€”and change your life. In Why Does He Do That? you will learn about:
 
ā€¢ The early warning signs of abuse
ā€¢ The nature of abusiveā€¦


Book cover of Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship

Nadine Macaluso Why did I love this book?

I love how organized and clear this guide to understanding developmental trauma is. The authors are somatic psychotherapists who have put years of research into this book, and I respect all of the cutting-edge information.

This book has personally helped me heal my early childhood wounds.

By Laurence Heller, Aline LaPierre,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Healing Developmental Trauma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Explaining that an impaired capacity for connection to self and to others underlies most psychological and many physiological problems, clinicians Laurence Heller, PhD, and Aline LaPierre, PsyD, introduce the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a unified approach to developmental, attachment, and shock trauma that emphasizes working in the present moment. NARM is a somatically based psychotherapy that helps bring into awareness the parts of self that are disorganized and dysfunctional, without making the regressed, dysfunctional elements the primary theme of the therapy. It emphasizes a person's strengths, capacities, resources, and resiliency, and is a powerful tool for working with both nervousā€¦


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Book cover of A Beggar's Bargain

A Beggar's Bargain by Jan Sikes,

A shocking proposal that changes everything.

Desperate to honor his fatherā€™s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm. Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosureā€¦

Book cover of The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Nadine Macaluso Why did I love this book?

I am a trauma therapist, and this is the best book written about how trauma not only affects our minds but also affects our bodies.

The author has transformed my understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brainā€™s wiringā€”specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust.

This book is my somatic therapy bible.

By Bessel Van Der Kolk,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked The Body Keeps the Score as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times bestseller

"Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society." -Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies

A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van derā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds

By Nadine Macaluso,

Book cover of Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds

What is my book about?

In this book, I bring you my personal experience and years of expertise in trauma bonds to explain:

ā€¢ the mental health of the narcissistic pathological lover (PL), 

ā€¢ the traits of women who are the perfect ā€œvictimsā€ of these PLs, 

ā€¢ how you can leave a trauma bond safely, and 

ā€¢ how you can heal.

It also shows how women can be surthrivers of these trauma bonds and go on to have healthy, positive relationships and lives armed with knowledge and awareness. So run like hell from damaging trauma bonds and live with awareness, practice self-love and care, and thrive, regardless of your past.

Book cover of Women Who Love Psychopaths: Inside the Relationships of Inevitable Harm with Psychopaths, Sociopaths & Narcissists
Book cover of The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships
Book cover of Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

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