ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David was the fifth child of seven, born to a father of Irish Catholic origin and a mother of English heritage. David’s mother came from a dysfunctional family, where her father abandoned her and her six siblings for a younger woman in 1928. David’s grandmother, destitute, stressed, and depressed, was not able to provide the necessary emotional support to her newborn infant. As a result, David’s mother developed a covert narcissistic personality disorder, which left emotional and psychological scars on her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. Interestingly, some of her children today deny these traits and believe their mother was a normal, loving parent. However, that is not David’s memory or experience, as he was tormented by his mother throughout his childhood and adult life, leaving him with serious mental health issues until he began receiving treatment and knowledge in 2008. The torment David endured is detailed in the poems and afterword of the book. David believes his older siblings were manipulated into being her “flying monkeys,” complying with her wishes and demands to punish David after he wrote a heartfelt letter in 2009. They also devoted their lives to David’s mother, tending to her every need until she died in 2024 at the age of 95. David believes his mother had absolute control over his other siblings until the day she died, manipulating them with conditional love and threats of being left out of her will.