dark souls - Reviews for dark souls | Dark Souls the book

Read what they are saying about Sarah Strudwicks new book 'Dark Souls - Healing and Recovering from Toxic Relationships' - A Practical Handbook on Psychopathic Personalities.

"Dark Souls is a must-read if you've ever been involved with an exploitative personality, and a recommended read even if you haven't. It examines in great depth who these personalities are, what makes them tick, and why they are so dangerous. Most importantly, it addresses, very effectively, how to avoid these insidious individuals and, if this is too late, how to recover from them. A welcome, important addition to the literature on violating personalities."

Steve Becker, LCSW, CH.T Psychopathy Expert and LoveFraud.com columnist, USA

Through the book, I was able to read dialogue that was strangely familiar. I was able to understand behaviors that had crushed my person and my soul all of my life. What a RELIEF!!! I was not alone, and certainly not the only one to have these experiences. That was the first joy I experienced.

It's almost two years now since Sarah first contacted me to tell me about her own experiences and her own climb towards greater self awareness and self empowerment. Over that time I've taught her some of the skills and processes that I find it self-empowering and she has taught me many of her skills. We have shared websites, encouraged each other, laughed together and occasionally as she notes in her book, giving each other a well-deserved "kick in the backside". It's that kind of friendship.

It has also been a wonderful experience for me working with Sarah thanks to Skype and cheap telephone calls as we talked together about her book from the very first time when she was thinking about writing it. So it is with great pleasure that I now add my endorsement and support for both here and her book as she launches "Dark Souls".

I too have had my own personal experiences with narcissists. I know what Sarah is writing about. Explaining what it's like while we remain caught up in their dark web is almost impossible. Explaining what it was like afterwards is not much easier. That's why I am amazed at the clarity with which Sarah has been able to describe from her own first-hand experience what she has gone through, and more importantly how she survived. Many people don't make it.

"Dark Souls" is, however, far more than the story of her experiences. It also provides powerful step-by-step guidelines for those who are ready to begin dealing with narcissists and particularly to those who want to escape from their clutches, or better still avoid getting caught in the first place. I can recommend it as essential reading and I will certainly be recommending it to my clients here in Australia.

John B Nutting BA (Psych) Clinicial Counsellor and Author of Understanding Your Negative Core Beliefs, Queenland, Australia

"Few people have sympathy for a woman who engages in a relationship with a married man. Of course, some complicated attachments evolve due to separations or pending divorce, bad timing and other reasons. But when people learn a woman stayed with a married lover who was also abusive, a tendency exists to further blame her for bad judgment.

When you learn the married man in question might be a sociopath, this alone requires refraining from judgment. You really cannot know a person based on her primary relationship, nor judge a book by its cover, as Sarah Strudwick’s book, “Dark Souls” suggests that anyone can be fooled into a toxic relationship, whether with a sociopath, pathological narcissist or other personality disorder. That’s because most people start off with good behavior, and in Strudwick’s case there had been a reasonable friendship prior to all the mess that would result in her writing a book with the subtitle, “Healing and Recovering from Toxic Relationships..... Read more

"Dark Souls deserves a special place on every self-help bookshelf. Filled with a combination of personal story, research covering various types of "dark soul" personality disorders, and practical exercises, Dark Souls inspires readers to cut unhealthy cords and connect with their inner power and spiritual wisdom . Like all good teachers, Sarah Strudwick empowers her readers to change maladaptive belief systems so as to not repeat past patterns. Well researched and impeccably written, Dark Souls is a book that will enlighten, educate, and ultimately lead to personal liberation."

"This is not just another one of those "I've been there, so I know what I'm talking about" books. Well-researched and equally well-written, Strudwick delves deeply into the very core of abusive relationships, uncovering the disturbing characteristics narcissistic psychopaths and other severely disturbed characters possess and the tactics they use to inflict much damage on unsuspecting, naive, or tender spirits. Not content to be viewed as or remain a victim, she also takes a refreshingly honest and probing look at the factors that allow oneself to be preyed upon and gives abundant, accurate and practical advice about what it really takes to build more right-sighted and empowered life.

Rather than just an expose of the darkest souls among us, this book is about the ultimate triumph of those more noble souls who came to honest terms with evil in the world and laid claim to a more purposeful, joyous existence."

Dr George Simon Ph.D Best Selling Author of 'In Sheeps Clothing' and Character Disturbed

I recently came out of a relationship with a person with NPD and if it wasn't for this book i would have still been puzzled by their behaviour. because what you see is not what you get.

From the outside these people have charm and sound intelligent. The only problem, they often mention, is that the world don't seem to understand them, nothing is their fault. Their whole focus is them and everything else rotates around them, having said that, they dont seem arrogant, they just claim they are victims and that no one likes them.

They make you feel sympathetic towards them and that's what they want. Don't expect anything in return, in fact they might start attacking verbally or put you down if they see you doing anything good.

There's usually no thrills in the relationship because what appears from the outside doesn't match whats really in their minds. So the relationship often feels empty, like something isn't quiet right.

Cord cutting helped me release all the negative ties that were attached to me. Little did I know that there were other cords that had to be removed from past relationships and only found out while doing the session with Sarah. You can also learn how to regain your energy back from these people, it made me feel like my old self again.

In this book Sarah explains her experiences with her ex that will help you spot people with dark souls and avoid them in the future. I recommend it to anyone who wants to move on and start a new chapter with their lives.

"Engaging book from Sarah offering a look inside the minds of psychopaths and narcissists as well as the minds and emotional traits of the people that tend to be their victims, people who have oodles of empathy, tolerance and compassion but sadly have huge self-esteem issues themselves. She gives us a plethora of red flags to look for in terms of the psychopath`s and narcissist`s behaviour from her own personal experience and her own analysis. Sarah`s experience and thoughts are useful to read about in further identifying and learning more information about the pathological personalities of these "Dark Souls" and people`s difficulty and attachment to them. Her book further suggests to the reader useful coping mechanisms and ideas which are so important for a person finding themselves in this very difficult situation, a position where one can die a death of the spirit by hanging around too long with them."

"This book is a painstakingly well-researched tour of the netherlands of such "relationships" with narcissists and psychopaths: the ups and downs, the promise and inevitable disillusionment, the cruelty and mind games and the heartbreak that is the inescapable aftermath. The author's first-hand experience translates into helpful insight both passioned and, where appropriate, impassioned. It is a useful and liberating guide for the perplexed, the disoriented, the sufferer, and the victim. It should be read and studied by both them and mental health practitioners."

“Dark Souls” is a highly informative, insightful, and intimate look at a personal relationship with a manipulative sociopath. Sarah Strudwick has delved deeply into the psychology of malevolently dysfunctional people and shed a great deal of light on coping strategies and her own interactions with them."

"In love, even the wisest cannot tell. For when a person loves, all else, bar none, is ignored. It is difficult for someone in love to see the destructiveness of a relationship one is in it. Sarah wrote the book from her heart in order to help heal those whose lives were touched and affected by destructive relationships. We must not blame the people on the other side of this scenario. In my opinion, there are those that have been in so much pain they are unconsciously inflicting pain on others. One can only hope to see the patterns early on to get away from it before much damage has occurred. I recommend this to everyone who wants to heal from those relationships."

Melinda M. Sorensson, Ph.D., Author of My Journey to an Integrated Life, USA

"When I first flicked through the pages, I was surprised to read that your book is also a tutorial. Previous to reading your story, I was unaware of the term "sociopath" or "narcissist". My eyes have been opened to the fact that "dark souls" operate all around us. I am not paranoid after reading the book, but enlightened to the fact that I can now recognise the type of person who will feed from my good energy and give nothing back, as when in a good balanced relationship.
Good luck for your future."