Abandonment
Abandonment can lead to a range of intense emotional experiences, including:
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Despair and hopelessness: Abandonment can be a deeply distressing experience, and it may lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. People may feel as though they have no control over their lives and that their future is uncertain.
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Anger and resentment: When someone experiences abandonment, they may feel angry and resentful towards the person who left them. This can lead to feelings of bitterness and a sense of injustice.
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Shame and embarrassment: Some people who experience abandonment may feel ashamed or embarrassed, as if they have done something wrong. This can lead to feelings of self-doubt and low self-esteem.
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Grief and loss: Abandonment can feel like a loss, and it may lead to feelings of sadness and grief. People may experience feelings of emptiness and loneliness and may struggle to come to terms with the situation.
- Loneliness and isolation: When someone experiences abandonment, they may feel very alone and questions whether anyone cares about them. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.
These feelings are normal and can be expected when someone experiences abandonment. However, it is important to seek support from friends, family, or a mental health professional to help process these emotions and move forward.
You might find it helpful to explore these feelings in a bibliotherapy session or learn some bibliotherapy techniques to help you process these feelings by completing our online Bibliotherapy, Literature and Mental Health course.
Book Recommendations for Abandonment
Finally below are a selection of book recommendations on dealing with feelings of abandonment.
David Copperfield (Fiction) by Charles Dickens
Thought to be Dickens's own personal autobiography, David Copperfield chronicles life, adversity and suffering in elegantly refreshing fiction with colourful characters. In particular, Copperfield suffers at the hands of his stepfather's cruelty and the loss of his mother very early on in his life, yet manages to stand strong, resilient and humble.
The Days of Abandonment (Fiction) by Elena Ferrante
"When you don't know how to keep a man you lose everything." Being left for another woman, this novel's central character, an Italian woman, comes to terms with the absence of her husband whilst caring for 2 little children. A national bestseller in Italy, the book details the devastating impact of losing her husband on her sense of identity, her life going forward and the emptiness with which she must carry on.Whilst a short read, Elena Ferrante takes the reader on a powerful journey, allowing him/her to truly connect and immerse themselves in the emotional experience of this Italian woman.
Related recommended reading lists:
Consolation in times of sorrow
Looking for something more specific? Get something more tailored with our personalised book prescriptions within 48 hours. You might also find it helpful to explore these feelings in a bibliotherapy session or learn some bibliotherapy techniques to help you process these feelings by completing our online Bibliotherapy, Literature and Mental Health course or our book Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading.
A big hello and thank you for reading! Passionate about literature, psychology, and life I launched Book Therapy as an alternative form of therapy using the power of literature. I train mental health professionals, librarians, teachers as well as readers on using bibliotherapy in their own work through our online Bibliotherapy, Literature and Mental Health course. We also curate reading lists/personalised book prescriptions for clients based on their individual needs. This is our signature personalised reading service.
You can also check out Book Therapy’s other free reading lists and A- Z of book prescriptions (covering both fiction and non-fiction). These suggest books based on your existing life situation (e.g. anxiety, job change, relationship heartache) as well as interests (e.g memoir, historical fiction, non-fiction, crime etc). There’s also a Children’s A — Z of Book Prescriptions. Feel free to check out the blog for more literary gems. There’s also a post on my personal story of how I entered the world of bibliotherapy and book curation.
In this role, I have had the opportunity to publish two books called Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading and The Happiness Mindset, and write various literary essays and pieces for newspapers and magazines. I have undertaken bibliotherapy workshops for The United Nations, various libraries in New York and corporate organisations in the UK and US. My book recommendations have featured in the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, Asian Voice, New York Observer, Sydney Telegraph and various other publications. If you are a parent you might enjoy a podcast I’ve recorded with speech and language therapist Sunita Shah on Raising A Reader & Storyteller. And if you’d like to connect, email me at bijal@booktherapy.io or www.booktherapy.io.
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