This fine book will be profoundly helpful to all the women who needed it yesterday. At last, we have a book on the subject of difficult children that is profoundly sympathetic with and empathic toward mothers. It is excellent cultural therapy.

Mary Pipher, author of “Reviving Ophelia” and “Women Rowing North”

Difficult will appeal to a wide audience, most notably to women whose lives are consumed by the emotional, financial, and temporal demands of adult offspring who are unable to independently
manage their own lives. It will also be informative and useful to practitioners and academics in social work, sociology, gerontology, elder abuse, developmental psychology, and mental health. It can serve as a primer for anyone who wants to understand how and why some women feel the need to remain involved, even in control, of an adult child’s life. Any reader is sure to come away with a deeper appreciation for the immense burden carried by mothers who recognize an adult child’s chronic state of crisis and those mothers’ subsequent decision to mobilize when their adult child’s limitations manifest in consequences too dire to tolerate, thus necessitating their intervention and ongoing, active involvement.

Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work

This is an important and much-needed book. Professor Smith examines the many ways that mothers are profoundly affected by the struggles, sorrows, and needs of their adult children. I’ll be recommending it widely not only to parents, but to my colleagues. Difficult explores a neglected area of research and guidance that families, psychologists, and physicians, can learn from.

Joshua Coleman, PhD, psychologist, and author of “Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict”

I am someone who has lived in fear in my own home, afraid of my own adult son. This book brings to light the unfair AND unsafe burden that has been placed on families of adult children with serious brain illnesses and substance use disorders. I hope every legislator, health care provider, social worker, and community leader reads this book and is moved to create the much-needed treatment policy changes, funding, and #HousingThatHeals for our adult children living with serious brain illnesses and substance use disorders.

Leslie Carpenter, IA mental health advocate

The difficulties of having an adult child with problems, particularly those who are mentally ill, abusing substances, or violent is often overlooked by mental health professionals, the media, and the public. Any mother with difficult children who reads this will undoubtedly no longer feel so alone. It is a book of despair and of hope, anger and love.

Nancy R. Hooyman, professor and dean emeriti, University of Washington School of Social Work

We all know parents who are struggling with their difficult grown children. They would do well to read Difficult, a wise and insightful book. Judith Smith tells the hard family stories and offers both compassion and hope.

Jane Isay, author of “Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today”